China may stop global production of cars – observer

However, the semiconductor crisis has no end in sight and another threat is already hanging in the air: The lack of magnesium, the raw material without which the production of cars in the world is in danger of stopping, since the production of aluminum alloys depends on it. Which is used for most of the different components of a vehicle, from body panels to monoblock structures (basically, the chassis).

Information developed by financial times, Accordingly Europe may run out of reserves of the metal as early as November, which means that car manufacturing could be suspended indefinitely.. At least, until the energy crisis allows for a return to normal life.

In statements carried by the aforementioned agency, a Barclays analyst Amos Fletcher explains that “35% of the demand for magnesium is for automotive sheets”So if the supply of magnesium were cut off, “the entire auto industry would potentially have to stop.”

The problem is that “there is no substitute for magnesium” in the production of aluminum ingots, especially those used in the manufacture of the various components of the vehicle, which means that it is a material of high strength. show it 85% of the world’s supply is in the hands of China Which, in the face of the energy crisis, chose to close factories.

In the city of Yulin, where the foundry facilities are concentrated, 35 of the 50 factories have been closed by government decision and should remain so until the end of the year. This is because they require high demand industrial complexes from an energy point of view. Hence, the justification put forward for stopping the activity is linked to the need to guarantee energy for domestic consumption, which is an imperative that pushes the remaining fifteen factories to cut production in half.

In this context, and motivated by the energy crunch, the perspective is that magnesium will be deficient in a very short time. Without this building block for aluminum alloy production, there is no way to manufacture suspension components, brakes, plates, fuel tanks, engine blocks, and… the list goes on.