Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 4-11-25.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: Passenger car retail sales in China surged to 1.94M in March, up 14.4% Y/Y and 40.2% M/M, ending two months of sequential declines according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The growth was driven by boosted government subsidies and a milder price war. Additionally, the sequential increase also reflects the weakness from tied to the Chinese New Year extending into the beginning of the Feb this year.
NEV retail sales reached 991K units, slightly above preliminary estimates of 988K. NEVs increased 38% Y/Y with BEV sales totaling 646K units, up 50.6% Y/Y and PHEV up 24.6% Y/Y. NEV penetration stood at 51.1%, up 8.7 percentage points Y/Y and 1.6 percentage points M/M. NEV exports totaled 143K units, up 6.4% Y/Y and 21.2% M/M, contributing 36.6% of total passenger car exports.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- Volkswagen’s Audi holding cars in US ports due to auto tariff
- BMW considers boosting US production to navigate trade tensions
- China slows approvals for Geely and BYD’s Latin America plans amid trade tensions
- Canada announces 25% import tax on US-built cars in response to Trump tariffs
- China warns drivers after fatal Xiaomi EV crash raises concerns over smart driving systems
- China’s auto industry viewed as consolidating amid global pressure and tariff uncertainty
- Continental announces plan to spin off ContiTech division, focusing on tire business
- Daimler Truck reports 8% decline in 1Q sales amid lower NA demand
- EU and China to negotiate minimum prices for Chinese-made EVs to avoid tariffs
- EU pushes India to reduce car import tariffs as part of trade deal negotiations
- Foxconn unveils plans EV entry with focus on Japanese partnerships and market expansion
- Harley-Davidson board member resigns after criticizing leadership and culture
- Horizon Robotics announces partnership with VW to develop ADAS solutions for smart driving
- India restricts BYD access while courting Tesla amid trade tensions with China, says Bloomberg
- Kia lowered its 2030 EV sales target amid uncertainty over US auto policy
- Mercedes-Benz reports 7% drop in 1Q sales, with sharp decline in BEV demand
- Novares and Valeo reportedly demanding upfront payment for US auto tariffs amid cost pressures
- South Korea unveils multi-$B support package for auto sector amid US tariffs
- Stellantis offering financial assistance to suppliers to offset US tariff costs
- Tesla China sees strong March sales rebound but faces sharp export decline
- Toyota reportedly aiming for 15 in-house EV models by 2027, adjusting production targets amid challenges
- US and Canada auto sales could drop by 1.8M vehicles in 2025 due to trade tensions, according to Telemetry
- US EV sales rise 10.6% Y/Y in 1Q25, but Tesla faces continued decline amid tight supply and rising prices, according to Cox
- VW misses 1Q25 earnings expectations, citing provisions for fines and restructuring costs
Datacenter
- Alphabet (Google) reaffirms $75B datacenter investment plan, despite tariff concerns and AI costs
- US tariffs worsen transformer shortage, threatening power grid reliability & driving up costs amid surging electricity demand tied to AI datacenters, says the WSJ
IP&E
- Codelco announces target of 1.39M tons of copper output in 2025, despite trade tensions and price peaks
Semiconductors
- China exempts foreign-made US-designed chips from tariffs, but chips from US-based fabs would be tariffed
- Global fab equipment spending to grow 2% in 2025, according to SEMI
- Chinese manufacturers plan aggressive price cuts for SiC substrates amid trade tensions, says DigiTimes
- Global semiconductor sales hit $54.9B in Feb, marking strong Y/Y growth despite regional declines, according to the SIA
- Alphabet unveils 7th-gen TPU, Ironwood, to challenge Nvidia in AI inference performance
- Marvell announces sale of Automotive Ethernet business to Infineon for $2.5B to focus on AI solutions
- US plans to reverse Nvidia H20 AI chip export ban to China after CEO meeting with Trump, says NPR
- Nvidia’s AI servers may avoid US tariffs due to USMCA exemptions, with production expanding in Mexico
- Qualcomm announces partnership with DeepRoute.ai to develop cost-effective ADAS using Snapdragon platforms
- STMicro to cut 2.8k jobs globally, focusing on manufacturing overhaul and advanced tech investments
- STMicro and Innoscience announce partnership on GaN technology to enhance solutions across multiple sectors
- Texas Instruments lays off staff at Lehi plant amid operational restructuring and softening demand
- TSMC faces potential $1B penalty over US export control investigation involving Huawei chip, according to Reuters
- TSMC 1Q revenue rises 42% Y/Y to $25.6B on AI chip demand; reaffirms guidance despite $161M quake impact
Consumer/Other
- Apple rushed 1.5M India-made iPhones to the US via chartered flights to dodge looming Trump tariffs, says Reuters
- Luxshare announces its consideration for US, SE Asia expansion for Apple manufacturing as tariffs loom over China production
- China plans stimulus talks to offset trade war, boost domestic demand
- China halts rare earth exports amid new controls, escalating trade tensions
- China hikes tariffs to 125% on US goods, signals potential end to trade retaliation for now
- PC shipments jump 9.4% in Q1 as vendors rush US orders ahead of tariffs, says Canalys
- Trump pauses most new tariffs for 90 days, hikes China rate to 125%
- Trump may ease ship fee plan amid industry backlash over China-linked vessels