According to the latest vehicle registration data released in early March 2026, Taiwan's auto market saw a sharp drop of nearly 40% in total vehicle registrations to about 22,000 units in February, due to fewer working days from the Lunar New Year holiday. However, the electric vehicle (EV) segment displayed a pronounced "watershed" effect, with certain models bucking the general trend and reshaping the competitive landscape for 2026 between domestic and imported EVs.
Japanese auto parts supplier Denso has made a takeover proposal for Kyoto-based chipmaker Rohm in a deal that could reach about JPY1.3 trillion (approx. US$8.3 billion), according to reports from Nikkei and Reuters.
Rising tensions in the Middle East are adding a new layer of uncertainty for the global automotive industry, raising the risk that geopolitical disruptions could once again ripple through production costs, energy supply and logistics networks.
Tata Motors is doubling down on electric vehicles as India's energy transition accelerates, leveraging policy protection, aggressive pricing, and localization to defend its 40% EV market share while preparing a new wave of products and expanding infrastructure from 2026 onward.
BMW introduced the humanoid robot Aeon at its Leipzig production facility in early 2026, a move framed as both a production innovation and a symbolic milestone in the leadership transition to Milan Nedeljkovic, who will assume the role of group chief executive in May 2026.
Taiwan's scooter market declined in February 2026 due to the Lunar New Year holiday, with fewer working days for vehicle registration. Total monthly sales dropped to 44,817 units in February, down 22.55% from the previous month's 57,867 units and 24.37% lower than the 59,258 units recorded in February 2025.
Following US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global energy and shipping flows. The move has lifted prices for petrochemical feedstocks, synthetic rubber and plastic components, creating 15-25% raw material cost pressure for automakers and compressing margins.
South Korea's vibrant startup ecosystem is advancing the country's smart city ambitions through AI-driven infrastructure. Uniqconn—a CES 2026 Innovation Awards Honoree—and Warp Solution have proposed blueprints for distributed AI infrastructure and battery-free smart cities, respectively, aiming to address massive national computing demands and reduce maintenance costs for urban traffic sensors.
At the 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC), MediaTek showcased a series of breakthrough technologies under the theme "AI for Life: From Edge to Cloud," emphasizing its leadership in chips and AI. The company focused on 6G communications, next-generation home broadband platforms, automotive connectivity, mobile AI, and data center interconnect solutions.
Volkswagen AG's "in China for China" strategy is facing an uphill battle in the market after less than six months, with the company now entering a fierce pricing war that has spread from the electric vehicle (EV) market to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and even dragging BMW and Mercedes-Benz into the crossfire.
Europe's domestic battery sector is in a structural crisis, with high costs, technological shortfalls, and project delays eroding its ability to compete with Asian manufacturers.
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