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BYD is pressing ahead with plans to enter Japan's all-electric kei-car market, stepping up promotional activity and appointing a brand ambassador in a sign of growing confidence about its formal expansion into one of the world's most specialised automotive segments.
Hotai Leasing Co., Ltd. plans to list its shares in early August 2026 as the Taiwan-based vehicle leasing provider expands its mobility and used-car businesses.

Micron has said its Strategic Customer Agreement (SCA) long-term supply deals with 16 key strategic customers include seven automotive customers — among them Qualcomm, Visteon, and Harman, all key suppliers supporting the automotive ecosystem — reinforcing its push into the auto supply chain. The memory maker said the agreements also cover CSPs and AI infrastructure players.

AI giants are soaking up memory chips with vast capital, tightening supply for other industries and raising costs worldwide. The pressure is rippling from consumer electronics to cars, prompting automakers to hedge supply risks, absorb higher costs, and rethink procurement strategies as chip prices remain elevated.

Micron Technology said it has completed strategic customer agreements with several tier 1 suppliers and ecosystem partners serving the global automotive industry, including Qualcomm, Visteon, Harman, Joynext, Denso, Astemo, and Hyundai Mobis.
China's passenger vehicle market posted its sharpest slowdown in years in the first half of 2026, with private passenger car sales falling 20% year on year, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The slide has pushed exports from a growth driver to the main support for automakers, while also exposing the sector to growing geopolitical risk.
Semiconductor suppliers have begun rolling out one to two rounds of price increases and tighter allocations in the first half of 2026 as demand from GenAI, geopolitical tensions and inflation continue to reshape the market. Automakers have been watching closely for signs of a repeat of the pandemic-era auto chip shortage, but supply-chain sources said production has so far remained stable.
Hotai Leasing said on July 15 that Taiwan's auto market is expected to return gradually to normal growth in 2026 after tariff uncertainty, vehicle shortages, and tight financing pressured demand in 2025. The company also said younger consumers are increasingly shifting from car ownership to on-demand rental models, signaling a broader change in how vehicles are used in Taiwan.

Volkswagen, the world's second-largest automaker, has expanded production cuts and layoffs, drawing scrutiny to the pressures facing Europe's auto industry.

The US electric vehicle market showed signs of stabilizing in the second quarter of 2026 after federal clean-vehicle tax credits expired in September 2025, although sales remained well below year-earlier levels.