Costly battery cells to cause short-term pressure: TaMo

Tata Motors (TaMo), India’s top-selling electric carmaker, said the cost of battery cells had risen by around 20% due to a global surge in raw material prices, mainly lithium, creating short-term pressure for it.

Shailesh Chandra, President of the passenger vehicles business unit, said cell prices have been rising over months and he expects them to remain high for about a year. Chandra did not comment on whether this would affect its sales or profitability but said demand for “green personal mobility” was rising sharply and he expected to offset some of the costs by increasing the use of locally sourced components in its cars.

Automakers globally are facing inflationary pressures due to surging costs of nickel, cobalt and lithium that are used in making batteries - the most expensive part of an electric vehicle as demand outstrips supply.