Carmakers are quietly rewriting a very expensive part of the modern car. Ferrari, BMW, Tesla, and several Chinese electric vehicle brands are moving from copper wiring to aluminum cables, a shift driven by soaring material costs and the industry’s obsession with shaving weight wherever it can. Copper is still the better conductor, but at the right price point, ”better” is a luxury item.
The timing is obvious. Copper prices came close to a record $15,000 per ton earlier this year, while aluminum sits at about $3,100 per ton. JPMorgan estimates that replacing copper with aluminum could cut global copper demand by about 2% in 2026, rising to 6% by 2030 if the trend keeps spreading.
Which carmakers are already using aluminum wiring
Ferrari says it began using aluminum power cables in 2025 on the 296 hybrid sports car and then rolled them out to other models, including its first fully electric car, Luce. The company says the change reduced the weight of the wiring harness by about 20%. BMW has been on this path for much longer: aluminum conductors first appeared in the 1 Series in 2011, and they are now used across many hybrids and EVs, including newer cars on the eDrive platform.
Tesla, XPeng, Xiaomi, and AVATR have also adopted the material, according to Reuters, and Stellantis has reportedly started the move as well, though it has not publicly confirmed it. The pattern is familiar: premium brands lead the way, mass-market brands follow once the economics stop looking absurd.
Why aluminum looks good on EVs
- Lower material cost than copper
- Less weight in the wiring harness
- Useful for electric and hybrid cars, where efficiency matters more
There is a catch, of course. Aluminum carries electricity less efficiently than copper, so cables need a larger cross-section to handle the same current. Producing aluminum is also more energy-intensive. But in automotive engineering, ”perfect” rarely wins; ”good enough, cheaper, and lighter” usually does the job.
The pressure on copper is unlikely to ease soon
The bigger story is not just a materials swap. Electric cars need more wiring than old combustion models, and that makes every kilogram and every dollar count. As battery production and EV sales grow, automakers are under pressure to cut costs without making cars heavier, and aluminum gives them a rare two-for-one answer.
If copper stays expensive, the shift will spread further from flagship EVs into the broader market. That would be bad news for copper suppliers, but a welcome reminder for automakers that the most glamorous parts of a car still depend on brutally unglamorous accounting.