Assembling One Vehicle From Eleven Supply Chains
A mid-size EV is the convergence point of about a dozen independent global chains, any one of which can stop the line.
Ore to Vehicle · Part 4 — Structure and Commerce · Chapter 13 · 12 min read
Put it all together and a mid-size EV is the convergence point of about a dozen independent global chains, any one of which can stop the line.
~11
Independent chains
~35 t
Rock for 70 kg of copper
~500×
Copper’s ore multiple
1.6 kg
Rare earth magnet per vehicle
13.1 — The bill of materials
13.2 — The column worth internalising
Important
The right-hand column is the one worth internalising: the ore tonnage moved to deliver each of these materials is one to three orders of magnitude larger than the material itself.
Copper is the extreme case — roughly 35 tonnes of rock moved for the 70 kg in the car, a multiple of around 500.
13.3 — What chemistry choice actually changes
The figures are approximate and vary enormously with chemistry. An LFP vehicle carries no nickel or cobalt at all but more lithium per kWh and a great deal more phosphorus.
That is a completely different exposure profile, not simply a cheaper one. It removes the DRC and Indonesian dependencies and adds purified phosphoric acid, which competes with fertiliser production for the same rock — and, as chapter 14 shows, it makes the recycling economics substantially worse.
Quick check: test yourself
1.Which material in an EV has the largest gap between its mass and the rock behind it?
Show answer
2.Is an LFP vehicle simply a cheaper version of an NMC one, materially speaking?
Show answer
Chapter summary
- ✓A mid-size EV is the convergence point of about eleven independent global supply chains.
- ✓Steel and aluminium dominate by mass; copper, lithium and graphite dominate by supply risk.
- ✓The ore tonnage behind each material runs one to three orders of magnitude above the material itself, with copper the extreme at roughly 500×.
- ✓Chemistry choice relocates exposure rather than removing it — LFP drops nickel and cobalt and picks up phosphorus and a worse recycling case.
Frequently asked questions
How much material is in an electric vehicle?+
Approximately, for a mid-size roughly 60 kWh car: about 900 kg of steel, 280 kg of aluminium, 70 kg of copper, 60 kg of graphite, 40 kg of lithium as LCE, 35 kg of nickel, 30 kg of phosphorus in an LFP pack, 18 kg of manganese, 9 kg of cobalt, 1.6 kg of rare earth magnet and 35 grams of silver. It varies enormously with chemistry and vehicle size.
Which material moves the most rock?+
Copper, by a wide margin — roughly 35 tonnes of material moved for the 70 kg in the car, a multiple of around 500. Lithium is next at roughly 12 tonnes for 40 kg. The general rule is that the ore tonnage behind each material runs one to three orders of magnitude larger than the material itself, which is the column worth internalising from the bill of materials.
Does LFP simply mean cheaper materials?+
No — it means a different exposure profile. An LFP vehicle carries no nickel and no cobalt at all, which removes the DRC and Indonesian exposure entirely. But it carries more lithium per kWh and a great deal more phosphorus, which brings in purified phosphoric acid and its competition with fertiliser production. It also changes the recycling economics substantially, and not for the better.
Reviewed by
Ore to Vehicle is an original educational series on the battery and EV materials supply chain. Country shares, grades, prices and policy status are approximate, drawn from public reporting as of mid-2026, and move year to year — treat them as orders of magnitude rather than as a ledger, and verify before relying on them commercially.