AI Memory Shortage Could Lift New Car Prices 4% Toward $60,000
Updated
Updated · The Atlantic · Aug 19
AI Memory Shortage Could Lift New Car Prices 4% Toward $60,000
2 articles · Updated · The Atlantic · Aug 19
Summary
$50,000 new cars in the U.S. could get about $2,000 pricier over the next year as an AI-driven RAM shortage pushes vehicle costs up by a few percentage points.
AI companies are absorbing memory chips for data centers just as automakers pack vehicles with more screens, driver-assistance systems and centralized computers that need far more RAM.
20% or more of a vehicle’s cost could eventually sit in advanced computing hardware in software-heavy models, leaving even lower-end cars exposed because supply constraints are lifting all chip prices.
Ford said the shortage and inflation already added $1 billion in materials costs, while GM and Volkswagen have also flagged rising chip expenses to investors.
Since pandemic-era chip disruptions already lifted average new-car prices by $11,000 and three-year-old used cars by nearly 40%, analysts warn AI-driven shortages could entrench $60,000-plus vehicles and further squeeze affordability.