Electronics Supply Chain Weekly Digest 2-28-25.
DATAPOINTS OF THE WEEK: New car registrations in Europe declined 2% Y/Y in January, marking the fourth month of Y/Y declines in the last six months, following a 4% increase in December, according to ACEA data.
BEV sales surged 37.2% Y/Y, with strong growth seen in Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK. BEVs now account for 15% of the market share, up from 10.9% in Jan 2024. PHEV sales grew 7.2% Y/Y, reversing a trend of seven consecutive months of declines before Dec and Jan.
HEV sales growth decelerated to 16.8% Y/Y after 29.7% growth in Dec but continue to be a popular choice among EU consumers, commanding 34.9% market share. Meanwhile, ICE vehicle registrations saw an accelerated decline of 29.7% Y/Y, with France and Italy both reporting significant 40% Y/Y drops.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- EU to propose push to boost EV demand, require more local batteries
- Car parts supplier Forvia to pass on cost of US tariffs to customers
- Lucid CEO steps down; EV maker plans to more than double production in 2025
- Mercedes develops new V8 combustion engine as EV sales stall
- Mercedes-Benz China plans to cut workforce costs by 25% by 2027, according to Reuters
- EV maker Polestar gets $450M loan as it faces falling demand and cash burn, delays quarterly results
- Stellantis expects to return to return to revenue growth in 2H25 driven by new models
- Toyota’s global production rose 6% Y/Y in Jan, marking its first increase in a year
- US new-vehicle sales in Feb expected to rebound after slow Jan, 16.3M SAAR anticipated, says Cox
- Volkswagen, CATL to collaborate in China on lithium battery development
- Xiaomi’s SU7 surges with 248k orders in 2024, 300K delivery target set for 2025
- Xiaomi slashes SU7 Ultra price by 35%, targets luxury EV market with aggressive move
Datacenter
- Alibaba plans to invest $52B in cloud computing and AI infrastructure over the next 3 years
- AMD in talks to sell datacenter manufacturing plants acquired in ZT purchase
- Flex expands US manufacturing capacity to meet AI-driven power demands
- Microsoft adjusts data center leasing plans amid AI infrastructure concerns, says financial analyst
- Meta in talks to raise $35B for datacenter financing led by Apollo, Bloomberg reports
- Nvidia is expanding its partnership with Cisco to simplify AI system deployments for businesses
IP&E
- Trump orders new tariff probe into US copper imports
- Nokia acquisition of Infinera approved by European Commission
Semiconductors
- Aerospace semiconductor market to touch $15B by 2034
- Amazon joins the quantum computing race, announcing new ‘Ocelot’ chip
- ams OSRAM secures €227M EU support for Austrian chip facility
- China’s low-cost SiC and mature chips capacity pressuring chip prices in China
- DigiKey enters global distribution agreement with Qorvo to expand reach in NA, EMEA, & APAC
- Huawei has improved yield of Ascend AI chips from 20% to nearly 40%, reaching profitability
- Intel delays $28B Ohio chip factories to 2030, local media reports
- Nvidia 4Q revenue surpasses expectations on strong Blackwell results
- onsemi to cut nearly 2,400 jobs this year in restructuring push
- SkyWater Technology to acquire Infineon’s Austin wafer fab for $110M
- Italy looks to remove STMicro CEO over poor performance, Bloomberg reports
- Trump team seeks to toughen chip controls over China, Bloomberg News reports
- TSMC reportedly delays second Kumamoto fab construction; 2027 mass production on track
- TSMC’s 3nm and 5nm utilization rates surge in 1Q25 despite US curbs on China
- Trump administration pressures TSMC to partner with Intel in bid for stronger US ties
- Vanguard International Semiconductors reports 4Q24 revenue growth, plans for 2025 CapEx focused on SiC wafer production
- WT expects a strong recovery in 2025 and reported revenue growth in 2024
Consumer/Other
- Apple unveils $500B US investment plan, expands AI and manufacturing efforts
- Chinese auto giants Xiaomi, XPeng, and NIO expand into humanoid robotics
- Chinese manufacturers shift production to Southeast Asia to counter tariffs
- Microsoft urges Trump to overhaul Biden’s last AI-chip export curbs
- Trump confirms tariffs on Canadian, Mexican imports; expands trade actions on China
- Samsung weighs shifting smartphone production from China amid tariff concerns