What Buyers Need to Negotiate with Automotive Suppliers on Equal Footing

Automotive buyers now handle more quotes with fewer experienced people, and 79% of industry leaders say tariff-driven costs are among the challenges that will greatly impact their business. Without a clear understanding of what a part should cost to make, buyers often negotiate on price alone and rely on what suppliers choose to share.

This playbook from aPriori and WardsAuto covers cost visibility, regional sourcing changes, and design decisions. The data shows buyers how to use should cost estimates as a baseline to analyze supplier quotes and find where assumptions differ.

You’ll learn how:

• Suppliers combine cost increases and reductions into one number or hide costs in tooling, and how to separate material from manufacturing expenses
• Material, labor, and energy costs vary by region before you move to production
• Design choices determine much of a part’s cost before procurement sees it, especially on new EV parts
• To question supplier pricing and request price changes when costs shift mid-contract