Sony Honda Mobility, the joint venture between Sony and Honda, has scrapped the two "Afeela"-branded electric vehicles it had been developing, citing Honda's recent strategic shift that canceled three planned US EVs—moves that could cost the automaker nearly US$16 billion. The decision leaves the joint venture's hundreds of employees in Tokyo and California facing uncertainty, as the companies evaluate the venture's future.
US government disclosures have cast rare light on one of the electric vehicle (EV) industry's most closely guarded supply chains, confirming that LG Energy Solutions (LGES) signed a battery supply agreement worth about US$4 billion with Tesla in July 2025.
As global automotive supply chain inventories normalize, the automotive semiconductor market enters a critical transition phase in 2026. DIGITIMES Research indicates that, despite slowing growth in traditional vehicle sales, software-defined vehicles (SDV) and powertrain electrification have become the two core growth drivers for automotive IDMs.
Buffeted by a slower-than-expected shift toward vehicle electrification and electronic architectures—along with the crosscurrents of tariffs and inflation—the global auto market turned in a muted performance in 2025. Yet even as layoffs and restructuring swept through many Western suppliers, Europe's and America's legacy Tier 1 manufacturers managed to hold margins steady, revealing a survival strategy built on internal austerity and external reinvention.
