<div id="readability-page-1"><div>[FRANKFURT] Automakers in the US and Europe raised concerns about China’s export controls on rare earth metals, as Beijing’s move threatens to disrupt global car production.Mercedes-Benz Group and BMW are in talks with suppliers to prevent shortages of components containing these materials, with the former discussing stockpiling certain items. Meanwhile, Ford Motor said it’s taking longer for some parts to get through China’s approval process for exporting rare earths, with shipping costs rising in some cases. “It just puts stress on a system that is highly organised,” Ford chief financial officer Sherry House said on Wednesday (Jun 4) at an industry conference in New York. The controls mean automakers must find alternative parts or ways to source supplies, she said. Ford had to idle a factory in Chicago producing the Explorer sport utility vehicle for an entire week last month due to a rare earths shortage. While its car factories are operating as usual, parts of BMW’s supply network are affected by China’s curbs, a spokesperson said, without giving further detail. In response to tariffs from US President Donald Trump, China in April imposed controls on rare earth exports that threaten to disrupt the global supply of key materials widely used in high-tech manufacturing, from electric vehicles to weaponry. Automakers need rare earths such as terbium for motors in electric cars, while others are used in combustion engine vehicles, such as in sensors and electronic systems. China dominates the market for processing these materials. The potential squeeze on rare earth magnets is drawing comparisons to the global semiconductor crisis that disrupted automotive production in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. “It’s a major issue for the industry,” John Murphy, a Bank of America auto analyst told Detroit-based reporters Wednesday at an Automotive Press Association event. “Like other supply shocks, they are very industrious and are going to find workarounds fairly quickly.” While unlikely to force immediate production stoppages, he said that “over time, if it’s not solved, it’s going to become a very expensive problem”. The industry has lobbied the Trump administration to prod China to resume shipments of rare earth materials such as dysprosium and critical components made from them such as magnets. <h2>‘Matter of weeks’</h2>“Without swift intervention from the administration, we anticipate this to impact and potentially interrupt US auto production in just a matter of weeks,” the heads of automaker trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation and Mema, the largest vehicle supplier association, said in a joint letter dated May 9 and addressed to several Cabinet secretaries.While carmakers do not typically purchase rare earth metals directly, major suppliers use them in electric motors and hybrid systems delivered to automakers. “If you come into such a risk situation, then we are in constant, constant dialogue with our suppliers,” Jorg Burzer, Mercedes’ head of production, told reporters on Wednesday at a plant in Rastatt, Germany. “Naturally, we discuss with them what the best tool is for risk management, so physical buffers play a role.” Elsewhere, Rivian Automotive has been working to educate the Trump administration on the complexity of supply chains, including how challenging it would be to process rare earths in the US, chief executive officer RJ Scaringe said at the UBS conference. “These are 24-hour days, full-court press. We have a giant team on this,” Scaringe said. BLOOMBERG</div></div>

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美國和歐洲的汽車製造商，包括梅賽德斯 - 奔馳和寶馬，正在應對中國對稀土金屬的出口管制，這威脅到全球汽車生產。他們正在與供應商進行談判，以防止短缺，梅賽德斯正在考慮囤積庫存。福特因中國的審批流程而面臨零部件延遲。分析師警告稱，如果情況得不到解決，可能會導致重大生產問題和成本增加。行業正在敦促美國政府介入，以確保這些關鍵材料的持續供應

Mercedes, BMW step up response to China export curbs to avoid shortages

梅賽德斯和寶馬加強應對中國出口限制的措施，以避免出現短缺