The New York Times ran a recent online article about this. It's not just the batteries for cars in China, but those for electric bikes, which are appearing all over the world, including the U.S. As gasoline prices rise, the consumer's cost of the juice needed to go an equivalent distance is considerably less. While the usual Chinese electric bike has a 36 volt battery assembly, there are now 48 and 72 volt models coming onto the market, with proportionately larger battery assemblies, and therefore more lead. According to the article, this is one of the factors driving lead's steep rise. The 72 volt bikes, incidentally, can cruise along at highway speeds, but are banned in some Chinese cities. Because they're silent, and sometimes run lightless in China to save power, they're called "whispering death".
