The automotive industry supply chain is facing an onslaught of rising costs, complex global dependencies, and a wave of high-profile supplier bankruptcies. In 2025 alone, names like Wolfspeed and Marelli have failed, both were flagged by RapidRatings as financially vulnerable well before collapse.

For automotive manufacturers and automotive component suppliers, the real challenge is spotting these risks early, before they trigger production delays, contract disputes, or lost revenue. That’s where the RapidRatings Automotive Risk Calculator comes in.

Why Automotive Supply Chain Risk Is Different in 2025

Automotive supply chains are vast and highly interconnected, often with thousands of suppliers across multiple tiers. RapidRatings’ analysis of a representative automotive company shows:

• 20.3% of all suppliers are already in financial distress pre-tariffs
• Private suppliers, which are harder to assess, have a 29% higher instance of distress than public ones
• Under current tariff scenarios, these overall distress levels rise 23%, with some sectors seeing jumps of more than 10 percentage points

Sectors Under Pressure

Certain supplier sectors are bearing the brunt of financial instability:

• Primary Metal Manufacturing: distress climbs from 25% to 35% under tariffs
• Plastics & Rubber Products Manufacturing: rises from 25% to 39%
• Transportation Equipment Manufacturing: jumps from 22% to 33%
• Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods: leaps massively from 18% to 37%

These aren’t small suppliers — they’re the backbone of production, and a failure in any one of them can cascade down the line.

What the Risk Calculator Delivers for Automotive Leaders

The Automotive Supplier Risk Calculator gives instant, data-driven visibility into:

• Where risk is concentrated in your supplier network
• Which sectors are most vulnerable and by how much
• How private suppliers compare to public in terms of financial stability
• How tariff stress scenarios will change your risk picture ‍
• Benchmarking against automotive industry averages to see if your exposure is above or below peers

It doesn’t stop there, the tool also reveals cash ratio, leverage, and operating margin gaps between high-risk and low-risk suppliers. That’s why clients of Rapidratings who get ratings and FHR reports on these suppliers have a long range view into who might not survive the next 12 months.

The Cost of Waiting

The lesson from Wolfspeed and Marelli is clear: distress doesn’t stay hidden forever. The signs are visible — if you know where to look. Businesses that monitor automotive supplier financial health can act early to:

• Diversify sourcing
• Renegotiate terms
• Accelerate contingency planning
• Avoid expensive production disruptions

The Bottom Line: The automotive supply chain is under stress, and the gap between high- and low-risk suppliers is widening. The RapidRatings Automotive Risk Calculator gives you the foresight to act before financial distress becomes an operational disaster.

Run your risk scenario today and see where your vulnerabilities lie then talk to RapidRatings about  how to get ahead of them.

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