VW got no deal for Cobalt

Volkswagen’s meeting with mayor players from the cobalt industry to supply the carmaker with the material crucial for EV batteries ended with no deal again. The request for a fixed price prove a deal breaker once more.

The talks in Wolfsburg hosted illustrious guest with representatives of giants like Glencore, China’s Huayou Cobalt, commodity trader Traxys, U.S. miner Freeport-McMoran and Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) in attendance.

VW is still looking for prices below the current market price and wages its expected order volume. To no avail it appears as Reuters quotes a source saying “We didn’t get into the details of how much tonnage they would need.”
Prices for cobalt surged by as much as 80 percent since last year when carmakers had to begin electrifying their offering in earnest, spurred on by diesel gate and the threat of stricter emission regulation. BMW too is trying to secure its supply and has started negotiations (we reported.)

Volkswagen would not go into detail but said talks are to commence next year.