This volume reports on the post-COVID-19 aluminum demand recovery status, particularly for June and July. Although recovery is taking longer than expected, it appears that we have finally reached a stage where we can be hopeful.
Taking the lead in the recovery are automotive materials. The figure shows the domestic automotive production volume transition from the year before the COVID-19 outbreak (2019) to June 2024. By the latter half of 2023, production picked up to the 700,000 units/month level for 2019 but reverted to a 500,000-600,000 unit/month level decline in 2024 (January-June). The cause of the decrease during the April-June quarter of 2024 was attributed to the “type application” fraud by the Toyota Group． Similar fraudulent acts were confirmed at the end of July, causing great concern for further reduction in production. Regrettably, all these events came right before the launching of specific EV initiatives.
In order to make advancements in future EV initiatives, the reconstruction of Japanese automobile manufacturers can be expected. On August 1, 2024, Honda and Nissan exchanged a memorandum to standardize vehicle-mounted software and parts for future use in EVs, and an announcement was made that Mitsubishi Motors would also join this initiative.
With the establishment of this three-company alliance (Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi) along with the Toyota Group (Toyota, Suzuki, Daihatsu, Mazda, Subaru), the two major leagues will likely aim to strengthen their supply system to compete with the US, Europe and China.