Foreign chipmakers are partnering with Chinese firms as geopolitical tensions and supply chain risks reshape the global semiconductor industry. The push, known as a "China for China" strategy, aims to secure stable supply chains in China.
Germany's once-dominant automotive sector is facing its most profound reckoning in decades, shedding over 52,000 jobs — a 6.7% decline — in the past year alone, according to fresh data released by Destatis. Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, the broader industrial sector has cut a total of 245,000 positions, with nearly half of those losses concentrated in the auto industry, according to estimates by the auditing and consulting firm EY.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is preparing to raise tariffs on a wide range of Chinese imports in her 2026 federal budget proposal, a move aimed at shielding domestic industries from low-cost competition and aligning more closely with the US's strategic trade agenda, according to people familiar with the matter.
Tesla and Samsung have struck a US$16.5 billion chip deal seen as a win-win, with Samsung's Texas fab set to produce Tesla's next-gen AI6 chips. Tesla gains customized supply chain support, while Samsung strengthens its foundry credibility and expands its external client base.
China's fiercely competitive auto market is entering a new phase of high-stakes rivalry, with two private-sector titans — Geely Automobile and BYD — locked in an increasingly intense battle for dominance.
As part of its broader effort to strengthen competitiveness in the next generation of vehicles, Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating its transformation toward software-defined vehicles (SDVs)—a shift that includes not only the development of in-car software platforms but also a strategic move toward in-house automotive semiconductor development.
Tesla's once-hyped Dojo supercomputer project—touted as a bold leap into custom-built AI infrastructure—appears to have reached a dead end. CEO Elon Musk confirmed via social media that the Dojo team has been disbanded, calling Dojo 2 a "dead end." However, he added that a potential "Dojo 3" could still emerge, possibly in the form of a single mainboard integrating a large number of AI6 system-on-chips.
Despite lively public debate over vehicle pricing, Taiwan's electric vehicle (EV) market has entered a period of stagnation, as long-awaited tariff agreements with the United States remain unresolved and consumer demand continues to lag. With the lunar ghost month and a traditional seasonal slowdown approaching, automakers and dealers are rushing to stimulate demand through aggressive promotions and equipment upgrades.
