As Waymo in the US and Baidu's Apollo Go in China expand robotaxi services on public roads, South Korea's autonomous-driving industry is under pressure to find a viable route of its own.
Hehui Electronics said it expected operations to improve in 2026 as new business in robotics, smart in-vehicle systems, and smart manufacturing gained traction following product demonstrations at Nvidia GTC 2026. The company announced plans to leverage an integrated edge vision-language model and smart mobility capabilities to drive growth and target a return to breakeven in its core business this year, a spokesperson stated.
China's auto market is entering a far more difficult phase. Domestic demand has slowed sharply, and for many carmakers the industry increasingly resembles a road with no visible end. Yet from the perspective of the automotive supply chain, two very different stories are unfolding inside the same market.
At the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, China's shift toward "disposable cars" carries global repercussions: faster refresh cycles could reshape vehicle lifespans, aftermarket ecosystems, and supply-chain standards worldwide. International automakers and suppliers, notably in Taiwan, may face new demands as cars are increasingly designed to iterate like consumer electronics rather than endure as durable assets.
Taiwanese electronics firms are poised to become key suppliers for Western automakers' next-generation vehicle electronics, with a wave of RFQs expected to convert into mass-production orders from 2027. Production shifts globally could affect supply-chain localization, cybersecurity planning, and the rollout of edge-AI-enabled vehicles across markets from the US to Europe.
Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to begin South Korea's first large-scale autonomous driving demonstration project in the second half of 2026, deploying about 200 vehicles equipped with the companies' internally developed Atria AI autonomous driving system on public roads in the city of Gwangju.
Whetron Electronics, a Taiwanese automotive electronics supplier specializing in vehicle sensing systems, said it is positioning itself for the next wave of growth by expanding into AI-powered driver assistance technologies, smart cockpit sensing, and advanced radar applications.
Ilitek, a Taiwan-based DDI maker, said its first-quarter 2026 results were hit by seasonal softness and rising memory prices, which prompted Chinese smartphone brands to become more cautious on inventory. General manager Tai-Yuan Chen said business will recover broadly in the second quarter of 2026, with smart mobile, IT equipment, industrial control, and automotive all set to grow sequentially, while order visibility now extends into the third quarter of 2026.
As American battery startups continue working to commercialize next-generation silicon-carbon batteries, Chinese manufacturers are already deploying the technology at scale and now pushing it into aviation-grade territory.
Taiwan scooter-sharing leader WeMo on May 12 announced a major service upgrade that introduced a new white-license model, dubbed WeMo Go, and signaled plans to integrate its platform with multiple mobility and payment services by the end of 2026. The company said the move launches a dual electric-scooter era designed to expand user choice and scale shared mobility across Taiwan.
China's Luxshare is accelerating its push into the global automotive supply chain through a proposed acquisition of BeijingWest Industries International Limited, marking another major step in its transition from a consumer electronics assembler into a global automotive Tier 1 supplier.
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