This year, people around the world are lining up to buy electric vehicles even as prices increase. Electric vehicle, EV, demand has stayed strong even as the average cost of lithium-ion battery cells increased to an estimated $160 per kilowatt-hour in the first quarter from $105 last year. Costs rose due to supply issues, sanctions on Russian metals and investor speculation. For a smaller vehicle like the Hongguang Mini, the best-selling EV in China, the higher battery costs added almost $1,500, equal to 30 percent of the listed price. But gasoline and diesel fuel costs have also increased since Russia invaded Ukraine, and experts noted that environmental concerns also are pushing more buyers to choose EVs. Manufacturers from Tesla to SAIC-GM-Wuling, which makes the Hongguang Mini, have passed higher costs on to consumers with price increases for EVs. More may be coming. Andy Palmer, chairman of Slovak EV battery maker InoBat, said "rising costs will have to be passed onto carmakers." But EV shoppers have so far not slowed down. Worldwide EV sales in the first quarter jumped nearly 120 percent, said the website EV-volumes.com.
Which of the following is a definition of the word specualtion?
investment in stocks, property, or other ventures in the hope of gain but with the risk of loss
relating to sight, especially in relation to the physical action of light
the process of concentrating on and becoming expert in a particular subject or skill
used humorously to refer to people who share a characteristic or occupation
What is EV short for?
electric vehicle
energy value
eclectic vegan
elbow vine
But gasoline and diesel fuel costs have also increased since Russia invaded Ukraine, and experts noted that environmental concerns also are pushing more buyers to choose EVs.
fuel
fool
food
feud