Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 12-12-25.
DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK:
Passenger car retail sales in China continued to weaken, declining 8.2% Y/Y and 0.8% M/M in November to 2.23 M units, marking the second consecutive month of Y/Y contraction, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA). The slowdown appears to have accelerated into December, with CPCA first-week data pointing to a 32% Y/Y and 8% M/M decline in total passenger vehicle sales.
November NEV retail sales remained positive, rising 4% Y/Y and 3% M/M to a record 1.32 M units, exceeding the 1 M level for a fourth consecutive month. This included BEV sales of 827 k units (+9% Y/Y, +1.8% M/M) and PHEV sales of 494 k units (+5.3% M/M but -3% Y/Y), marking the fifth straight month of Y/Y declines for PHEVs.
NEV exports totaled 284 k units, more than tripling Y/Y. Similar to overall passenger vehicles, NEV sales appear to have weakened materially in early December, with first-week data indicating a 17% Y/Y and 10% M/M decline. In contrast, CAAM data, which more closely reflects wholesale volumes, came in meaningfully higher than CPCA in November, implying a potential inventory build-up at dealer lots.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- Gartner says only a small share of automakers will maintain meaningful AI spending by 2029
- Changan announces plan to expand European push with new EVs, €2B investment, and 1k-dealer plan by 2030
- China’s regulator issues draft rules to stop automakers from selling below cost amid NEV market consolidation
- Global EV sales slow to 6% growth in November as China plateaus and US tax credit lapse hits demand, while Europe surges 36% on incentives, says BMI
- Stellantis to exceed €7B in Italian supplier spending in 2025 but domestic production set to decline, with EU emission rules key to future growth
- Tesla US sales drop 23% in November to lowest monthly level since January 2022 as cheaper Model 3 and Y fail to offset demand decline after federal tax credit ends
- US New-vehicle inventory stable at 3M units, ATP rises to $49,814 as incentives fall to 6.7% amid softer demand, says Cox Automotive
- US automakers urge Washington to block Chinese-backed EVs and batteries, citing subsidies and dumping risks
- Xiaomi plans three new EVs (YU9 family SUV, YU7 GT performance SUV, and SU7 L luxury sedan) to expand into Europe and target multiple segments
Datacenter
- BloombergNEF has raised its US datacenter power demand forecast by 36% to 106 GW by 2035
- Microsoft announces plans to invest $17.5B in AI and cloud infrastructure in India over four years, its largest Asia investment
- Musk and Bezos race to deploy AI datacenters in space using Starlink upgrades and Blue Origin tech, says the WSJ
- Oracle reports F2Q revenue of $16.06B as AI-driven cloud and OpenAI growth boost spending, but F3Q outlook falls short of expectations
- Oracle delays some OpenAI datacenters to 2028 amid labor and material shortages, $300B AI contract remains on track, says Bloomberg
- Taiwan launches Nano 4 AI supercomputing center with hundreds of Nvidia H200/GB200 systems, plans major expansions through 2029
Semiconductors
- Baidu Kunlun chips gain traction in China as Nvidia GPU access is tight, set for strong 2026 growth according to DigiTimes
- Broadcom reports $18B 4Q revenue on AI XPUs and strong backlog, forecasts $19.1B 1Q with slightly lower margins
- Global cellular IoT market to reach 5.9B connections by 2035, led by 5G RedCap and automotive growth, according to Omdia
- Global foundry revenue rises 8% in 3Q25 to $45B on AI, HPC, and consumer electronics demand, led by TSMC; Nexchip climbs amid “China for China” orders, says TrendForce
- Huawei ADAS Qiankun system brings advanced highway driving to $20k vehicles, appearing in 20+ models next year with Level 3 commercialization planned for 2026, according to Nikkei
- Huawei reconsiders €200M Strasbourg, France plant amid slow 5G adoption and EU restrictions, exploring sale or alternative uses
- Kioxia to begin Gen 10 NAND production in 2026, boosting AI data center storage with 332-layer, high-capacity, energy-efficient chips, according to Nikkei
- Wingtech seeks talks with Dutch custodians to resolve Nexperia governance dispute affecting chip supply, emphasizing control and ownership restoration, says Reuters
- Nvidia develops software to track AI GPUs’ physical location amid US crackdown on China-linked H100 and H200 smuggling, according to Reuters
- NXP announced plans to close Chandler, Arizona GaN wafer fab by 1Q27 as RF power business falls outside long-term strategy
- Qualcomm acquires Ventana Micro Systems to boost RISC-V CPU development and Oryon chip efforts
- Former Intel CEO Gelsinger predicts mainstream quantum computing within two years, could disrupt AI GPU market before 2030
- Rivian unveils in-house Autonomy Processor and Autonomy+ package for hands-free driving, priced below Tesla
- Samsung reportedly becomes primary HBM supplier for Google’s Ironwood TPU, supplying 60% in 2025 and boosting HBM3E performance, says DigiTimes
- South Korea evaluates $3.06B semiconductor foundry plan with 12-inch 40nm line, defense chip localization, and new presidential task force
- TSMC pauses construction on second Japanese fab in Kumamoto, may shift focus from automotive chips to 4nm AI production amid market changes, according to Nikkei
- TSMC ramps 3nm and plans three 2nm fabs in Taiwan, scales Arizona operations to meet AI demand; Nvidia to use A16 node, Apple moves to 2nm A14, says DigiTimes
- Nvidia cleared to export H200 AI chips to China with 25% surcharge; strong demand from ByteDance and Alibaba drives potential capacity expansion, according to Reuters
- US backs Morocco’s $870M polysilicon plant to diversify solar and chip supply chains from China, production aimed for 2029
Consumer/Other
- China issues first streamlined rare-earth export licenses, benefiting U.S. automakers while German firms wait
- Mexico approves tariffs of 5–50% on 1,400+ Asian imports, hitting Chinese cars hardest at 50%, to protect local industry and align with US trade policy
- Trump to set national AI rules, letting DOJ challenge restrictive state laws to support innovation and counter China
