Auto prices and shortages set to escalate

Slowing down: A car assembly line in Detroit, Michigan. US production will likely suffer eventually if Russian exports of metals – from palladium for catalytic converters to nickel for electric vehicle batteries – are cut off. — AFP

DETROIT: BMW has halted production at two German factories. Mercedes is slowing work at its assembly plants.cVolkswagen, warning of production stoppages, is looking for alternative sources for parts.

For more than a year, the global auto industry has struggled with a disastrous shortage of computer chips and other vital parts that has shrunk production, slowed deliveries and sent prices for new and used cars soaring beyond reach for millions of consumers.