The increasing demand among car manufacturers for platinum in items such as spark plugs and catalytic converters is pushing up the cost of making a car.

Despite international vehicle sales having seen a downward trend over the past year, increasingly strict emissions regulations across the world mean that catalytic converters are becoming more important to the automotive sector than at any time in their history.

At the same time, platinum spark plugs are becoming more popular with automakers because of their improved durability, meaning that the cost of platinum is having an important impact on the car industry.

However, the problem for manufacturers is that the depressed car market means the only way to sell vehicles is to offer motorists competitive deals, meaning that the increased costs as metal prices soar cannot be passed on to the consumer.

Peter Rosenfeld, executive vice president of procurement and supply at Chrysler, told Reuters at the North American International Auto Show: "We've never seen the kind of increase in raw materials that we've witnessed in the past year or so."

Nissan' chief executive Carlos Ghosn affirmed that view, commenting: "We are entering a period in the medium term where we are going to have to adjust the company to compete with the high price of energy and raw materials."


Ÿ Adfero Ltd