Ukraine War to Delay Automotive Sector Recovery: Worldsteel

The expected recovery of the global auto industry is still being hampered by the microchip shortage. The situation was expected to ease by the second half of this year; however, the war in Ukraine is likely to delay the return to normal of the supply chain, especially in Europe. So said worldsteel director general Edwin Basson during Thursday’s short-range outlook conference attended by Kallanish.

“Last year was disappointing for the automotive sector. The microchip shortage led to reduced demand and increased prices,” the executive commented. “It had been expected that the supply bottlenecks would dissipate in the second half of 2022. However, the war in Ukraine is likely to delay the recovery.”

Automotive production in China is estimated to continue to grow between 2022 and 2023, after rising 4.8% on-year in 2021. Meanwhile, the recovery in the US market in this period is likely to be driven by higher demand for light vehicles. Both markets are in line with the global increasing production share of electrical vehicles in developed economies.

“EVs will continue raising their presence in 2022. The new technologies and materials used in their production do not threaten the consumption of steel in the automotive industry. We see a positive development in the sector, which is already anticipating an evolution from EVs towards fully automated vehicles,” Basson explained.

Global sales of EVs in 2021 reached 6.6 million units, almost 100% higher on-year. Their share in overall shipments increased from 2.5% in 2019 to almost 8.6% in 2021.

Story courtesy of Todor Kirkov via Kallanish

Image courtesy of Carlos Aranda via Unsplash