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VW Sees Paying More to Restock Materials as Factories Crank Up

A Volkswagen ID.5 electric sports utility vehicle on the assembly line at the automaker's plant in Zwickau, Germany.

A Volkswagen ID.5 electric sports utility vehicle on the assembly line at the automaker's plant in Zwickau, Germany.

Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

Volkswagen AG is bracing to pay higher prices for commodities as improving supply of semiconductors allows the carmaker to crank up factories and start delivering cars to waiting customers.

Sales have already ticked up “noticeably” in recent weeks as more chips have become available, Europe’s biggest carmaker said Thursday. With stockpiles of more cheaply-sourced materials dwindling, restocking warehouses will be more expensive under current market conditions, Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said in an interview.