Raw Material Deals

The cost of raw materials has risen so much (metals, plastics, rubber, oil, etc) that Tata (and virtually every other automaker) is having a hard time controlling and absorbing costs.

There doesn’t appear to be any good long term way of hedging against rising prices other than to reduce use, as several Japanese manufacturers have announced.

Reductions would come in the form of using less in the vehicles (lighter weight) as well as reducing waste in the manufacturing process, and making cars that last a lot longer but are upgradeable. Again, I would suggest that’s why we need to take a long look at longer auto lifecycles.