Car prices to rise as manufacturers battle huge supply struggles

Car makers including Nissan and Toyota have warned that prices of new vehicles will have to rise after the industry flagged additional material costs totalling billions that will land in the second half of the year as a result of global supply chain disruption.

Reasons for the sharp hike in costs include the ongoing war in Iran, which has increased both energy and freight prices; data-centre demand for memory chips; and the rise of protectionism, which is forcing companies to rebuild supply chains away from low-cost centres such as China and Mexico.