Morning Bites

🚘US light vehicle sales declined 7% YoY in April, vs. the 12% YoY drop in March. Total car sales in the US were 1% above their pre-Covid (April 2019) level. According to local media reports, the YoY decline was partially driven by soaring fuel costs and the high base effect from 2025 (when sales were boosted ahead of the introduction of tariffs on imported vehicles in early-April 2025)

Meanwhile, the share of catalyst-containing cars in local sales is set to gradually increase, we believe, as US budget legislation eliminated USD 7,500 and USD 4,000 tax credits for buying new and used EVs, respectively, from the end of September 2025. In our view, this factor will further weigh on BEV sales in the US (~8% of global BEV registrations in 2025), as was the case in Germany in early-2024, which is supportive for PGM market fundamentals

On our numbers, North America accounted for 24% and 15% of world autocatalyst Pd and Pt consumption, respectively, in 2024

#cars #PGMs