Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 2-14-25.
DATAPOINTS OF THE WEEK: Passenger car retail sales in China totaled 1.79M in Jan, down 12.1% Y/Y and 31.9% M/M, according to the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA).
The slowdown reflects the impacts of the CNY holiday, Jan having 4 fewer days of effective selling time than last year, and a seasonal lull in the market, with many consumers having completed their car purchases in Dec.
NEV retail sales totaled 744K units, falling below preliminary estimates of 786K units. NEVs increased 10.5% Y/Y with BEV up 13.3% Y/Y and PHEV up 19.3% Y/Y. NEV penetration stood at 41.5%, a 9 %-point increase Y/Y but down 7.9 %-points from Dec. NEV exports were strong, totaling 139K units, up 29.4% Y/Y and 13.9% M/M, contributing 36.6% of total passenger car exports.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BYD launches ADAS features across most EV models, intensifying China’s EV price war
- Chinese automakers Changan and Dongfeng seen weighing merger
- US Senators propose killing EV tax credit, introducing new bill for $1K EV tax for road repairs
- Geely integrating DeepSeek for next-gen smart car AI technology
- Global electric vehicle sales up 18% in Jan with Europe & NA outpacing China says Rho Motion
- Lyft to launch Mobileye-powered robotaxis ‘as soon as 2026,’ starting with Dallas, TX
- Foxconn chief says open to buying Renault’s stake in Nissan
- Geely, Renault in talks over sales, manufacturing deals in Brazil, according to Reuters
- Trump administration halts $5B EV charging initiative started by Biden
- January US new-vehicle sales drop, days’ supply surges 26% due to weather disruptions and new year lull, according to Cox
Datacenter
- Cisco raised its full-year outlook on stronger AI networking demand
- US power companies increase data center demand spending as DeepSeek fears wane
- Supermicro lowers 2025 forecast on Nvidia delays, targets $40B revenue by 2026
Industrial
- Boeing says it delivered 45 aircraft in busiest Jan since 2023
- Deere revenue misses on muted farm equipment demand as tariff impact looms
- China’s chipmaking equipment purchase set to decline in 2025 due to overcapacity and US sanctions
- US manufacturing output falls in January on weak motor vehicle production
IP&E
- TE Connectivity to acquire Richards Manufacturing for $2.3B to expand in the electrical utilities market
Semiconductors
- Arm secures Meta as first customer for ambitious new in-house chip project
- The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS Act, which include $39B in subsidies
- GlobalFoundries forecasts weak Q1 revenue amid US tariffs and smartphone slowdown
- Global semiconductor sales hit $627.6B in 2024, up 19.1% Y/Y, with strong 4Q24growth, according to SIA
- GlobalWafers says US investments progressing as planned despite potential changes to US CHIP Act
- PMIC supplier GMT pessimistic about market prospects, particularly AI PC demand
- MCU market shows signs of revival as Holtek predicts strong 1Q25
- US gov’t pushing TSMC and Intel to create joint venture in the US
- Taiwan’s legacy chip industry contemplates future as China eats into share
- MediaTek, Realtek see 2025 network chip boom as Wi-Fi 7 gains traction
- NXP to acquire Kinara for $307M to bolster edge AI in industrial and automotive sectors
- onsemi misses 4Q estimates, warns of weak 1Q amid auto struggles
- OpenAI set to finalize first custom chip design this year with TSMC, according to Reuters
- SMIC warns of 2H25 oversupply risk of mature-node chips despite strong 4Q growth
- Chinese IC firms may shift 14nm orders to SMIC following TSMC’s enforcement of BIS whitelist
- TSMC sees 1Q revenue at low end of guidance after Taiwan earthquake impact
- TSMC board approves 17B investment to boost capacity, no update on US expansion plans
Consumer/Other
- Apple begins M5 chip mass production with TSMC and key suppliers from Japan, South Korea
- Foxconn Jan revenue up 3.16% Y/Y, see strong growth in 1Q
- President Trump has announced plans to implement reciprocal tariffs on countries that impose duties on US imports
- Trump raises tariffs on aluminum, steel imports in latest trade war salvo