Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 9-11-26.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: Passenger car retail sales in China totaled 1.54M units in August, down 22.8% Y/Y, but up 5.5% M/M, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA), marking the eleventh consecutive month of Y/Y declines.
Despite the broader weakness, NEV penetration reached its highest recorded level ever at 65.2% of retail sales, up 10 percentage points Y/Y. NEV retail sales totaled 1.01M units, up 5.7% M/M, but down 8.7% Y/Y.
Within that, BEV sales reached 700K units, up 1.7% Y/Y and 7.9% M/M, while PHEV sales declined 25.8% Y/Y. Notably, exports remained robust at 888K units, up 78% Y/Y, with NEVs comprising 58.3% of the total, growing 154% Y/Y.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BYD lifts 2026 overseas sales target to 1.9M-2M vehicles and sets 2.5M goal for 2027 as export ramp offsets domestic slide
- US Transportation Secretary urges Ford to sever ties with CATL and Geely as Republicans pile on over China dependencies, according to Reuters
- Tesla announces Cybercab robotaxi rides in Austin, drawing US safety regulator scrutiny of program
- US new-vehicle average transaction price tops $50K in August for first time in 2026 on richer SUV mix, according to Cox Automotive
- VW earmarks $18.6B for biggest-ever restructuring, phasing out four German plants and cutting up to 60K jobs
- Xiaomi signs MoUs with eight German Auto dealer groups, setting up 2027 European market entry
Datacenter
- SpaceX shifts AI datacenter build strategy to prioritize backup and cooling, likely slowing down deployment timelines, according to The Information
Connectivity
- Amphenol extends H4 solar connector line to 2000V DC as utility-scale PV moves beyond 1500V architectures
- Foxconn Interconnect Technology licenses Amphenol’s high-speed backplane connector patents
- Verizon announced a partnership with Corning for 80M miles of high-density optical fiber through 2032 in multi-$B supply deal
Industrial
- Xpeng commissions automated Iron humanoid robot production line in China, targeting year-end mass production and 2027 deliveries
Semiconductors
- Analog Devices announces $1.35B acquisition of Alif Semiconductor for edge AI microcontroller capabilities
- Chinese AI chipmakers reportedly hike processor prices 20%-50% as HBM shortage squeezes domestic alternatives, as reported by Reuters
- Global semiconductor sales jump 135% Y/Y to $146.8B in July as YTD total already tops any full year on record, according to the SIA
- GlobalFoundries lands up to $375M CHIPS R&D award to scale domestic quantum semiconductor manufacturing
- GlobalFoundries lands Monolithic Power Systems as long-term customer for 300mm Singapore fab, with volume production in early 2027
- Murata to discontinue select consumer and automotive MLCC lines by 2029 as it redirects capacity to AI server demand
- Nvidia to more than double Australia’s datacenter capacity with 2GW AI buildout by 2027 via four local partners
- OpenAI pitches its models as a cheaper alternative to open-source tools for chip design work
- OpenAI deepens Samsung chip collaboration, citing joint next-gen chip research as most advanced area of partnership
- Qualcomm announces AWS partnership for potentially up to $60B in AI datacenter chip purchases
- Samsung and ASML announce expansion of strategic partnership, targeting High NA EUV DRAM manufacturing by 2028
- Semiconductor equipment billings hit record $40.5B in 2Q26 as AI capacity buildout drives second straight quarterly high, per SEMI
- SolarEdge taps Infineon CoolSiC JFETs for solid-state circuit breakers in 800 VDC AI datacenter power distribution
- STMicroelectronics guides optics to roughly 80% of 2027 AI revenue, signaling silicon photonics as the primary AI growth vector
- TSMC posts record August revenue as AI chip demand keeps advanced nodes fully booked
- TSMC’s 3nm set to overtake 5nm as top revenue node in 2H26 on Nvidia Rubin ramp and AI follow-on orders, according to TrendForce
Consumer/Other
- Apple enters foldables with iPhone Duo, projected to capture 24.8% share behind Samsung in its first year, per TrendForce
- Global smartphone production falls 8% Y/Y in 2Q26 as memory-cost pull-forward temporarily lifts 2026 outlook, according to TrendForce
- US prosecutors open racketeering trial against Huawei, alleging 20-year scheme to steal trade secrets from Cisco, T-Mobile, and three other US firms, according to Reuters
Source:
Edgewater Research
