Rising prices of nickel, lithium and other materials threaten to slow and even temporarily reverse the trend of falling costs of batteries
San Francisco — Surging raw materials costs, made worse by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, could set back the dream of Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other auto executives to roll out more affordable electric vehicles.
This year could mark the first year-over-year increase in the average price of lithium-ion battery cells, he said. The average EV sold for almost $63,000 in January in the US, about 35% higher than the overall industry average for all vehicles of just over $46,000, according to research firm Cox Automotive.
That could put vehicle makers in a bind if they want to attract mainstream buyers, rather than luxury customers to whom they now cater.
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