Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 9-25-26.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: August new car registrations in Europe totaled 831K, below the 1M mark for the first time in five months on typical summer seasonality, increasing 5.2% Y/Y and down 26% M/M, according to ACEA data.
BEVs maintained strong Y/Y growth, reaching 243K registrations, up 52.2% Y/Y and down 13.5% M/M, accounting for 29.2% of the market in August, up 9 percentage points Y/Y.
PHEVs also saw significant Y/Y growth, rising 13.8%. HEVs increased 3.4% Y/Y and declined 30% M/M. HEVs account for 32.8% of the market, down 0.6% Y/Y. ICE registrations declined 22% Y/Y and 32% M/M, marking its 28th straight month of Y/Y declines.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BMW pushes back on EU tariffs against Chinese EV imports, urging voluntary pricing pacts to defuse escalation risk
- China EV exports jump 33% Y/Y in August as Europe and Latin America pick up the slack for softening Asia demand, Bloomberg reported
- Ford F-150 output halted for nearly a week at Michigan, US plant, hitting its highest-margin truck line, according to Reuters
- Honda nearing decision on $2.5B Ohio hybrid plant as NA capacity tightens and USMCA talks cloud outlook, according to Nikkei
- Tesla begins Semi electric truck deliveries at Nevada, US rollout event
- VW’s MOIA America group launches first US robotaxi service in Orlando with Mobileye-equipped ID. Buzz vehicles operated by Beep
- VW reallocates German production as EV plants fill up and combustion sites run below capacity
Datacenter
- Google to launch first Project Suncatcher satellite next week, putting TPUs in orbit to test space-based AI datacenter concept
Connectivity
- Peru targets 1M tons of added annual copper output as Chinese and US miners line up under new administration permitting reforms, as reported by Reuters
- Semtech unveils 224G octal TIAs and MZM driver for CPO and NPO optical engines targeting AI back-end networks
- Tower Semiconductor makes Japan its main optical chip hub with $4B buildout to feed Nvidia AI server demand, says Nikkei Asia
Industrial
- Tesla launches Optimus Gen 3 manufacturing-readiness audits at Chinese suppliers Tuopu, Joyson, and Sanhua, per 21st Century Business Herald
Semiconductors
- ABB launches Infinitus 800 VDC power portfolio for AI datacenters, extending Nvidia collaboration on gigawatt-scale architectures
- Advanced packaging market set to hit $51B by 2031 as AI accelerators, HBM, and CPO drive 27% revenue CAGR, according to Yole
- Chinese MLCC suppliers Viiyong and Chaozhou Three-Circle break into Dell, HP, ASUS, and Acer qualification as Murata pivots to AI, according to TrendForce
- China SiC capacity tightens, pushing power device orders to Taiwanese foundries, according to DigiTimes
- China audits Broadcom’s grip on state datacenter switching, weighing informal guidance to shift toward domestic suppliers, according to Financial Times
- onsemi widens October price hikes across power portfolio as AI rack power demand tightens mature-node capacity
- Valens Semiconductor and onsemi partner on cost-optimized MIPI A-PHY sensor for 3MP automotive cameras
- Global server market hits record $166B in 2Q26 as memory-driven ASP inflation and component allocation reshape buyer behavior, according to the IDC
- TSMC confirms 3-6% wafer price hike in January 2027 with order book booked through 2030
- 12-inch wafer LTA prices set to jump 15-40%+ in 2027 as AI demand tightens supply, as reported by TrendForce
