Car prices have skyrocketed

Metal prices, from aluminum in bodywork to palladium in catalytic converters and high-grade nickel in electric vehicle batteries, have surged and are continuing to rise. This is due to the refusal to buy metals in Russia, and this is a huge part of world supplies. For example, Russia produces 20% of high-quality nickel in the world, writes “Za Rulem”. Metals have not come yet under Western sanctions, but some auto parts makers are afraid of deliveries of Russian goods. “There is an escalation in raw material and energy costs, which is putting more pressure on the business model,” said Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis. Prices for aluminum and palladium hit record highs, while the price of nickel broke the $100,000 per ton mark for the first time. The chief executive of Aludyne, Andreas Weller, said aluminum prices have risen by 60% for the last four months, and electricity bills have skyrocketed.

As a result, he was forced to renegotiate the terms of the contracts and increase the already approved prices: "Without this, we cannot survive." According to consulting companies LMC Automotive and JD Power, the average price of a new car in the US in February was already $44,460, more by 18.5% from the same month in 2021. The prices for cars grow in Europe. Russian companies are the largest suppliers of German factories, for example. In 2020, they accounted for 44% of nickel imports, 41% of titanium, a third of iron and 18% of palladium. With a production of 108 million tons in 2021, Russia is the fifth largest iron ore producer in the world, according to Credit Suisse.

Our country supplies it to European steel companies, which have already encountered difficulties in purchasing metal. In particular, according to the American investment bank JPMorgan, the Austrian company Voestalpine and the Swedish SSAB had problems. Voestalpine admitted that they have enough stocks of Russian metal for several months, but sooner or later they will have to buy raw materials from other suppliers and at different prices. German steel and aluminum supplier VossEdelstahlhandel has decided to draw a line and sever ties with Russia: “Despite the fact that aluminum is not on the sanctions list, Russia uses it to bring money into the country, and therefore we are leaving,” said the company’s CEO Thorsten Studemund. Western experts believe that Russian high-quality nickel will immediately be redirected to China, and it will not be possible to return it.

This threatens a shortage of batteries for electric vehicles and an increase in their cost. Consequently, all efforts to reduce the cost of this important component were in vain. Cars with internal combustion engines will also rise in price. And it's not just about rising prices for steel and aluminum alloys. Palladium and platinum, which are used in catalytic converters, are also rising in price due to the resulting shortage. The share of Russia is about 40% of the world market of these metals.