Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 7-17-26.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: US EV sales fell 27.8% Y/Y to 75K units in June, dropping EV share of total new-vehicle sales to 5.4%, per Cox Automotive. Average EV transaction prices rose 3.5% M/M to $56.2K even as sales collapsed at lower-priced brands including Hyundai and Chevrolet, while Tesla held roughly 54% share.
Separately, new-vehicle affordability slipped slightly as average transaction price rose 0.4% M/M to $49.8K. Inventory (days’ supply) rose to 80 in June from 78 in May as sales pace slowed 5% M/M, with Toyota, Lexus, and Honda entering July with the tightest supply while Stellantis brands, Jeep especially, continue working through elevated stock.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BMW announces 2Q China sales plunged 30% Y/Y as Neue Klasse EV rollout lags local rivals
- California announces $270M EV rebate program offering $3.5K to first-time buyers as federal credit repeal weighs on sales, according to Reuters
- German minister floats higher EU tariffs on Chinese cars to force JV partnerships at VW’s Saxony plant, according to Reuters
- Honda announces exit from US EV market as Prologue winds down, pivoting to hybrids with plans to launch 15 models by March 2030
- Stellantis announces 2Q shipments rose 10% Y/Y to 1.6M units with NA up 38% Y/Y, Europe 5%
- VW announces ID. Cross sub-compact EV to broaden affordable lineup as in an effort to protect share against Chinese rivals
Datacenter
- Meta announces expansion of Louisiana Hyperion datacenter to 5GW capacity, lifting total project investment past $50B
- Reflection announces $1B+ Nebius computing deal for Nvidia chip access, adding to SpaceX capacity pact
Connectivity
- 3M announces Microsoft as first hyperscaler to deploy its Expanded Beam Optical tech in Azure AI datacenters
- Sumitomo Electric to more than triple InP substrate capacity by 2028 on AI optical transceiver demand, per Nikkei
- Tower Semiconductor announces $3B Japan expansion to build 300mm silicon photonics capacity for AI datacenter demand
- UMC announces first mass-produced silicon photonics wafers from Singapore 12-inch fab, qualified by cloud customer for 1.6T AI datacenter deployment
Semiconductors
- Apple reportedly weighs chip startup buyouts to shore up in-house AI server silicon as Baltra slips, says The Information
- ASML announces 30% annual EUV capacity expansion through 2028 as customer bookings outstrip supply
- Bosch announces sample production at first US SiC chip fab in California, finalizes $225M CHIPS Act award
- China IC export value nearly doubles Y/Y to $177B in 1H26 on commodity memory price boom, as reported by South China Morning Post and Tom’s Hardware
- Diodes announces $250M acquisition of ElevATE Semiconductor to expand into automated test equipment market
- India approves $13.3B Semicon 2.0 expansion to broaden fab, ATMP/OSAT, and chip design incentives
- Micron announces LTSA with Qualcomm, Harman, and major auto suppliers for AI vehicle platforms
- South Korean prosecutors raid Montage, Renesas, and Rambus offices in memory interface chip price-fixing probe
- Nvidia more than halves authorized Asian AI chip buyer list and begins low-volume H200 shipments, according to the Financial Times and Reuters
- Japan announces $2.4B Noetra venture to build 140MW datacenter anchored by 27.5K Nvidia Rubin chips for robotics AI model
- US Commerce Department signals incoming AI and chip export control action, will not replace Biden-era AI diffusion rule, Reuters reported
Consumer
- China smartphone OEMs face margin squeeze as shipments fall for fifth straight quarter on rising component costs, according to IDC
