CONNECT WITH US
Oct 28
CATL's dominance puts squeeze on South Korean battery rivals
Leading Chinese battery maker CATL's 2024 revenue was more than four times the average of South Korea's three major battery firms, highlighting a structural gap in the global battery market. Against this backdrop, CATL chairman Robin Zeng's attendance at the APEC summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, on October 28, 2025, has drawn significant attention.

Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) used this week's GTC event in Washington to highlight two fronts of collaboration with Nvidia: expanding US-based AI server manufacturing and joining a new alliance with Stellantis and Uber to develop level-4 robotaxis.

Taiwan's electric vehicle (EV) market is poised to enter a new phase of fierce competition by the end of 2025, as the island's three major automotive groups prepare to launch a wave of new battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) aimed at capturing the fast-growing mainstream segment.
The future development of Taiwan's battery industry must be grounded in the global competitive landscape and domestic industrial conditions, implementing differentiated, niche, and advantage-based strategies. The focus should be on developing small-volume, diverse, high-value, and cost-effective products to build technical barriers and avoid falling into price competition traps.
AI data centers are putting tremendous pressure on the US's already fragile power infrastructure. In addition to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, multiple Wall Street investment banks and industry organizations have recently warned that the US power grid faces increasing risks of blackouts and rising electricity prices.
Taiwan's electric scooter industry is currently coping with a number of bottlenecks in terms of domestic supply chains, battery reliability, government subsidy policies, and consumer confidence, all of which are tied closely to battery costs. The tight interconnection between batteries, supply chains, and market dynamics was recently highlighted with the unveiling of SYM Motor's PE3 range-extended electric scooter technology, further raising industry concerns about the actual cost required to produce an electric scooter.
Following an over 10% on-year growth in China's PCB revenues in the first half of 2025, CPCA Show Plus 2025, hosted by China Printed Circuit Association (CPCA), will be held from October 28-30 at the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center.

WeMo, Taiwan's leading shared electric scooter platform, is set to celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2026. Over the past year, the company has forged partnerships with major industry players—including Taiwan Mobile, LINE GO, iPASS MONEY, and iRent—building a "cross-vehicle, cross-platform, cross-scenario" smart mobility ecosystem. WeMo also told DIGITIMES that it is targeting a cumulative fleet of 50,000 vehicles by 2030.

Sharp Corp. announced on October 24 that it will enter Japan's electric vehicle (EV) market in fiscal 2027 (April 2027–March 2028), unveiling plans to launch its first self-branded EV built on a vehicle platform developed by its parent company, Foxconn. The company said the EV will be sold through unconventional channels, including home electronics retailers and housing manufacturers.

The largest US auto-parts trade group has warned that domestic carmakers may see major production disruptions within two to four weeks, as the escalating dispute over Nexperia risks cutting off supplies of essential automotive semiconductors.

China's recent order banning exports from the Chinese factories of Dutch semiconductor firm Nexperia has sent shockwaves through the global automotive supply chain, raising fears of a new wave of disruptions reminiscent of the chip shortages that paralyzed carmakers during the pandemic.

In the face of policy and capital competition pressure from Chinese companies, LG Energy Solution (LGES) is implementing a strategy that combines time compression and accumulation. The "compression" of time refers to AI and digital transformation, while the "accumulation" of time refers to differentiated technology and patents.