Rowan said lithium prices, a major source of cost for EVs, had started to decline. This was despite Chile, the world’s second largest producer of the metal, saying it would nationalize its lithium industry.
He added that more lithium sources were starting to be available from other parts of the world making him comfortable that the cost would continue to decline.
Volvo reaffirmed its outlook for “solid double-digit growth” in retail sales this year, provided there were no major supply disruptions. Volvo’s unit sales were up 10 percent in the first quarter.
Automakers such as Volvo have begun slowly emerging from an extended period of supply chain pain, not least chip shortages and production disturbances in China, which have hit output and driven up costs.
Volvo aims to be all-electric by the end of the decade.
