Buyers around the world are lining up to purchase electric vehicles this year even with sticker prices surging, flipping the script on a decade and a half of conventional auto industry wisdom that EV sales would break out only after battery costs dropped below a threshold that was always just over the horizon. This year, EV demand has stayed strong even as the average cost of lithium-ion battery cells soared to an estimated $160 per kilowatt-hour in the first quarter from $105 last year. Costs rose due to supply chain disruptions, 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% of the sticker price. But gasoline and diesel fuel costs for internal combustion vehicles have also skyrocketed since Russia invaded Ukraine, and experts noted […]