The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) lithium shares are top performers on Friday following a solid session for the lithium sector overnight.
The largest ASX 200 lithium miners Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY), Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) and Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE) are retesting all-time highs again, up 2.31%, 2.48% and 2.41% respectively.
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Why ASX 200 lithium shares running higher
The broader lithium and renewables sector is a hot space right now with no shortage of positive news.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order with hopes of making at least half of all new vehicles sold in 2023 electric, according to Reuters.
"The 50% target, which is not legally binding, won the support of U.S. and foreign automakers, which said that achieving it would require billions of dollars in government funding."
Reuters quoted statements from major US automakers, with General Motors commenting it "aspires to end sales of new U.S gasoline-powered light duty vehicles by 2035" and Ford saying it plans "at least 40% of our global vehicle volume being all-electric by 2030."
Many ASX 200 lithium shares have been calling out global electric vehicle adoption as a catalyst to drive a lithium demand surge.
Galaxy's capital raising presentation back in November cited that "global EV sales [are] forecast to grow as high as 30% CAGR in the next decade" and also anticipated "robust demand for lithium in the mid-long term.
More recently, Pilbara Minerals set up an auction for 10,000 dry metric tonnes (dmt) of lithium spodumene concentrate on its Battery Material Exchange platform.
The company said that it received 62 online bids ranging from US$700/dmt to US$1,250/dmt free on board (FOB) during the three-hour auction window.
Pilbara Minerals accepted the highest bid of US$1,250/dmt.
By comparison, Pilbara Minerals said that spodumene prices were fetching between US$700 to US$975/dmt back in June this year.
Encouragingly, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) reported more than 200,000 vehicle sales during its second quarter results last week. The figure represents a 121% year-on-year increase, helping the company surpass US$1 billion in net income for the first time on record.
