BUENOS AIRES: Chancellor Olaf Scholz is using a trip to Latin America to help Germany secure additional supplies of the lithium that car giants like Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Volkswagen AG need for their electric-vehicle batteries.
Chile is the world’s second-largest supplier of lithium after Australia and much of its output is currently gobbled up by China.
Scholz, who met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Sunday in Santiago, wants a larger share for Europe’s biggest economy, according to people familiar with the plans. The chancellor met with Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva yesterday.
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