The global wave of automotive electronics and electrification was supposed to be Europe's biggest opportunity for reinvention in a century. Instead, sluggish transformation and geopolitical disruptions have pushed the region's car industry into what suppliers describe as a systemic crisis.
As global demand for electric vehicles cools, suppliers across the EV supply chain are shifting toward hybrid and plug-in hybrid models to maintain steady growth. Yet despite intensifying competition, China remains the single most important engine sustaining global EV demand.
Shinkong Synthetic Fibers Corporation (SSFC) told investors on November 28 that it is navigating a challenging operating environment marked by raw material price volatility, Chinese product dumping, and shifting US tariff policies. The company said it is countering these pressures through diversified product development, rising contributions from its optoelectronics segment, and accelerating growth at subsidiary Shinsol Advanced Chemicals.
Silicon carbide (SiC) demand has been weighed down by a sluggish automotive market, but ACME recently observed signs of market reversal and expects the auto sector to gradually recover from late 2025 into 2026. The company is refocusing its R&D on SiC for AI data centers and inductive materials, while expanding production of semi-insulating grade SiC powder to meet surging defense industry needs.
Tesla is touting low ownership costs to attract Indian buyers, but sluggish early sales and steep import prices are clouding its debut, prompting the EV maker to push for ecosystem improvements and potential policy shifts to regain momentum.
OLED has yet to secure a meaningful foothold in the large-sized automotive display market, where stringent performance requirements and cost pressures keep LCDs firmly in the lead. Despite years of development, industry forecasts suggest OLED penetration will remain limited in the near term, with South Korean manufacturers shipping only modest volumes in 2025.
Japanese startup BIH and Chinese automotive battery firm Beijing Hoshikawa New Energy Battery Technology announced on November 26, 2025, the successful implementation of semi-solid lithium-ion battery technology in the mass production of batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Beijing Hoshikawa has highlighted that the new batteries will be deployed in new vehicle models launched by BAIC in early 2026.
Hotai Motor, the Taiwanese distributor of Toyota, Lexus, and Hino vehicles, expressed confidence in achieving its 2025 sales target of 165,000 units during a November 26 earnings briefing, maintaining a positive outlook for fourth-quarter demand. A company spokesperson, Chih-wei Lai, highlighted continued optimism for electrified vehicles, noting that Toyota and Lexus EV and hybrid models already account for roughly half of total sales.
The turmoil surrounding Nexperia has triggered a global crisis across the automotive supply chain, but it may offer an unexpected lift to Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSC). With roughly half of TSC's product portfolio overlapping with that of Nexperia—particularly in small-signal devices and diodes—analysts expect order reallocations to benefit the Taiwanese power-semiconductor maker. TSC has already begun shipping small volumes, and it anticipates a marked increase in shipments in the first quarter of 2026, with the company optimistic about the long-term gains.
In recent years, a growing number of Taiwanese auto–parts suppliers have accelerated their push into the robotics and server supply chains. Most remain in the sampling or small-batch shipment stage, but industry analysts say their products are often highly interchangeable. As a result, turning this cross-sector move into a meaningful revenue surge remains challenging.
As mainstream automakers accelerate their push toward electrification and digitalization, an "invisible siege" from the digital world is rapidly closing in. Hackers are no longer just stealing data; they are exploiting vulnerabilities exposed during costly upgrades to automotive electronic/electrical (E/E) architectures, complicating the industry's already high-stakes transformation.
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