The global automotive supply chain remained in turmoil in the first half of 2026 due primarily to geopolitical challenges and subsidy adjustments in Europe, the US, and China, as well as external factors including inflation, armed conflicts, and swings in consumer spending.
Taiwan's auto industry has begun to recover as recent clarity around US tariff policy eased months of pressure on manufacturers, dealers and aftermarket parts exporters, executives said. The shift, reported in late June, allowed delayed parts imports and new-car assembly schedules to resume, enabling factories and dealers to reconfigure production and prepare for the traditional sales peak in the second half of the year.
Horizon Robotics has become China's No. 2 supplier of intelligent-driving domain controller chips, but its next test is harder: deepening BYD ties, fending off automakers' in-house chip plans, and turning its software ecosystem into profit.
Honda Motor has begun producing data-center batteries at an Ohio factory originally built to supply electric vehicles, as automakers and battery suppliers seek new uses for capacity while EV demand cools.
Amid the ongoing AI race between the US and China, industry players in South Korea are now focusing on physical AI as a competitive factor, with manufacturing momentum as a core advantage, according to Park Min-woo, head of Hyundai Motor's Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) division and CEO of 42dot.
Taiwan's first domestically built submarine, Haikun, has entered submergence testing and is on track to be handed over to the navy in the second half of 2026, state-owned shipbuilder CSBC Corp. Taiwan said at a shareholders' meeting.
Taiwanese lithium-iron phosphate cathode maker Aleees is changing course after winning a major US order, moving away from licensing its technology and toward in-house production. The shift reflects tighter US supply-chain demands, rising demand from energy storage and artificial intelligence data centers, and growing competition among non-Chinese suppliers globally.
SYM said its 2025 results held up despite global tariff shifts and supply-chain disruption, highlighting resilient motorcycle sales in Taiwan and overseas. For global readers, the outlook signals how trade policy uncertainty is reshaping demand, while also showing how companies are leaning on product launches and disciplined management to support growth.
South Korean battery maker SK On has completed a share swap with China's Eve Energy, giving it full ownership of a battery manufacturing joint venture in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, as the company continues efforts to streamline operations and ease financial pressure.
Samsung SDI, a battery and electronic materials manufacturer, has entered an agreement to help US-based Forge Nano build a 3 GWh per year battery manufacturing site in Morrisville, North Carolina. The deal capitalizes on both Samsung's desire to avoid US tariffs and the American military's goal to develop non-China supply chains, including in batteries.
Seres Group, once the clearest listed proxy for Huawei's EV ambitions, has lost more than CNY180 billion (US$25 billion) in A-share market value from its peak, despite strong sales and profit.
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