Among top 10 automakers GM is the fastest growing battery nickel consumer

According to data from the Adamas Intelligence EV Battery Intel Platform, through the first 10 months of this year a total of 255.8 kilotonnes (kt) of nickel were deployed onto roads in the batteries of all newly sold passenger EVs worldwide, an 11% increase compared to 2023. 

Tesla led the pack with 41.3kt of nickel used in its EV batteries from January through October, a 7% decline from the same period in 2023. 

Tesla’s 7% drop in nickel deployment compares to a smaller 2% drop in battery capacity deployed over the same period speaking to an increased share of unit sales being fitted with LFP packs. Adamas data shows that the nickel-, cobalt- and manganese-free chemistry made up 39% of the Tesla total on a GWh basis. 

Over the same period, Volkswagen claimed a distant second spot with 28.1kt of nickel used in its batteries, up less than 1% compared to the first 10 months of 2023, edging out Toyota which saw a combined 26.7kt of nickel contained in its EVs, a 14% rise. 

Despite conventional hybrids (HEVs) making up over 90% of the Japanese automaker’s EV sales in 2024, Toyota still ranked third by nickel deployed.

Oft overlooked, HEVs remain a significant source of nickel demand. Nearly half all HEVs sold globally come equipped with nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH) batteries and another quarter with nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) Li-ion packs.  

Honda, also a HEV-heavy group, falls outside the top 20 but did increase nickel usage by 240% year over year, according to Adamas data.  

Geely (or Zhejiang Geely Holding Group) slots in behind Toyota. The sprawling Chinese auto empire owns a slew of brands outright and through joint ventures that include little know marques outside its home base, such as Geometry and Cao Cao, but also household names in the West, such as Volvo and Smart (a 50:50 joint venture with Mercedes-Benz).  

Combined, Geely packs hitting roads from Jan – Oct 2024 contained a total of 19.3kt of nickel, a 28% jump over the same months of 2023 making it the second fastest growing automaker in the top 10 after General Motors, which increased nickel usage by 82% to 9.3kt. 

GM’s nickel boom has a lot to do with its main supplier Ultium Cells, a joint venture with LG Energy Solution, that manufactures NCMA batteries fitted to the Cadillac Lyriq, the massive GMC Hummer SUV, the full-size Chevy Silverado pickup, and Blazer SUV, a mid-market offering introduced for the 2024 model year with some success. 

GM announced in October it is taking a step back from the Ultium brand and also sold its stake in a Michigan battery plant back to LGES.  GM is overhauling its battery strategy under a new battery boss, who joined Detroit from Tesla, and is looking to move to LFP cells for certain future models. 

GM has allegedly been in discussions with Japan’s TDK to make batteries in a US plant that use LFP technology licensed from CATL.  When the Chevy Bolt EV goes into production next year, it will use LFP batteries, but they will not come from a US-based venture with TDK as of yet.