The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine is starting to have a domino effect on the world economy. And in the automobile sector, electric vehicles have come into the spotlight now. And it is due to the soaring prices of nickel. This rare earth metal is a very important component in the manufacturing of EV battery packs.

And the majority of it is being mined by Russia-owned mines. With all the financial sanctions piling up on Russia, things are seemingly going to rebound. The direct impact of this has already occurred with the rapid surge in Nickel prices.

While this will eventually go down, it will not return to the pre-surge value. And anticipating backlash from Russia and the possible dearth of raw nickel, automakers are bumping up their EV prices. Rivian and Tesla have already done it, and Lucid has stated that its upcoming bookings and future vehicles will be pricier than anticipated.

A sudden increase in nickel prices is forcing major EV makers, including newbies like Rivian and Lucid to bump up their car prices.

Lucid Will Inevitably Increase Prices Of Upcoming Models

Lucid Air hd wallpaper front view
Via: Lucidmotors.com

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson has said that they will be hiking the prices of future models due to the "huge inflationary pressures". But as a relief, they will be honoring Lucid's existing reservation holders with the old pricing for the Air sedan.

This was done after they received serious backlash when they decided to bump prices for existing orders as well. So, the upcoming Lucid Gravity SUV and the "cheaper" trims of the Air sedan will not be as cheap as we anticipated.

Related: Volvo Installing EV Charging Networks At Starbucks Locations

Rivian Has Already Increased Its Prices By 20 Percent

Rivian R1T and R1S parked together
Via: Rivian.com

As in the case of Rivian and its offerings, the prices are already up. The R1T pick-up has been bumped by 17%, and the R1S SUV gets a bump of 20%. And unlike Lucid, Rivian has made this bump flat out, infuriating existing customers who have already placed pre-orders. Many expressed their frustration on social media and even threatened to cancel the orders.

Related: Upping The Ante: Ford On A Mission To Launch Seven EVs By 2024

Even The EV Leader Is No Exception

Tesla 2022 line-up in one image
Via: Tesla.com

Even the market leader couldn't escape from the inflammatory situation. Tesla has bumped up the prices of its line-up by 5 to 10%. The cheapest RWD Model 3 is now $46,990 (from $44,990) and the top-sped Tri-motor Model X is now $138,990 (from $126,490).

So we guess the time of EVs being "cheap" is done for. Even after things get back to normal, the prices wouldn't go down much. And if you already own an EV from any of the major automakers, you did a good job by jumping on early.

Related: Porsche Wants 80% Of 2030 Sales To Be EVs, 718 To Become All-Electric

It Is Time To Look Beyond Nickel

Lucid Air and Rivian R1T side by side comparison
Via: Press Releases

Nickel has been a major raw component in making battery packs for electric vehicles. This is because of this metal's capability to provide higher energy density and greater storage capacity while being easily tamable. This helps it to endure extreme temperatures, thus being apt to be used in automobiles.

While the largest nickel repository in the world is in Indonesia, it is from Russia that the automobile sector gets most of its shares. Russia has threatened to disrupt nickel supplies to various production houses which surged the price within minutes.

But for the time being, they are trying to procure this rare metal along with lithium and cobalt directly from mining companies to escape this hassle. The possible mining houses are located in Canada, Greenland, and even the US (in Minnesota). But to rewire everything from scratch is no child's play.

Sources: Instituteforenergyresource.org, Reuters.com, Insideevs.com