What an outstanding past couple of months it has been for the Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) share price.
After briefly touching a year-to-date low of $1.975 on 14 June, the lithium producers' shares haven't looked back.
Yesterday, the share moved into uncharted territory to reach $4.03 apiece.
However, the momentum hasn't stopped there, as it now trades at $4.21 – a new record high.
Let's take a look at what is driving these astronomical gains.
Pilbara Minerals shares power ahead
Investors are bidding up the company's shares following a broader uplift across the S&P/ASX 200 Materials (ASX: XMJ) sector.
For context, the index is up 2.35% making it the second-best performer on the ASX Indices.
Other lithium shares are also receiving a much-welcomed boost today. Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) and Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) shares are up 11.82% and 7.54%, respectively.
Despite no news coming from Pilbara Minerals or either of the above companies, it appears investors are buoyant on the lithium industry.
As reported by ABC News, a total of 95,256 new vehicles were sold in August, which was a 17.3% jump on last month.
In addition, more people are buying electric vehicles (EVs) as sales hit their highest level ever – around 4.4% of all new vehicle sales.
On the back of these numbers being extremely positive, there is belief that EV sales will pick up the pace in Australia. In European markets, for example, there are incentives to buy EVs and they are priced cheaper than petrol vehicles.
Should EV sales data continue to reach new heights, this could bode well for shares in Pilbara Minerals and other lithium companies.
Pilbara Minerals share price snapshot
On the back of strong lithium prices, the Pilbara Minerals share price has rocketed by 31.5% in 2022.
In comparison, the materials sector has fallen 8.38% over the same timeframe.
According to ANZ Share Investing, JP Morgan is bullish on Pilbara Minerals shares, raising its outlook to overweight from neutral.
Furthermore, the broker raised its price target by 17% to $4.10 per share. That's roughly in line with where the share trades today.
Pilbara Minerals commands a market capitalisation of approximately $11.78 billion.
