NEW energy vehicle (NEV) brand WM Motor Technology Co. said it will raise prices for its on-sale vehicles from March 28, becoming the seventh NEV manufacturer in China to announce price hikes in a week citing surging costs of raw materials.

NEV makers including Tesla, BYD and Xpeng had previously declared to lift prices.

WM Motor will raise its prices in a range between 7,000 yuan (US$1,100) and 26,000 yuan after subsidy, while Xpeng added by between 10,100 yuan and 20,000 yuan to its on-sale models before subsidy from yesterday, according to their official statements.

They all attributed their moves to the soaring prices of key raw materials for batteries, such as lithium, cobalt and nickel.

Some carmakers even stopped taking orders for their low-end brands. Starting from late February, Great Wall Motors paused their orders for Ora White Cat and Black Cat since it will lose over 10,000 yuan per unit sold, Dong Yudong, CEO of ORA brand, said earlier on the Ora app.

Carmakers that haven’t raised prices yet are probably going to have to once their battery suppliers start charging more, Li Auto Inc. chief executive officer Li Xiang said Saturday.

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), the world’s largest battery maker, has noted the higher commodity costs. “The surge of upstream raw materials has caused certain pressure on downstream segments of the industry chain including carmakers and battery makers,” a CATL spokesman said.

Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said the recent price hikes might create some buyer hesitancy in the market, but the success of the sector is inevitable in China and elsewhere.

The association estimates that as many as 5.5 million NEVs will be sold in China this year, up from 3.5 million in 2021. (SD-Agencies)