Europe's auto market stumbled at the start of 2026. Overall vehicle sales fell 3.9% in January from a year earlier, as most major manufacturers reported declines and consumer demand remained uneven.

As the global EV industry consolidates around a handful of charging standards, Mazda has made its choice.

Scooters remain a vital mode of daily transport in Vietnam, and buoyed by policy support and demographic trends, the country is becoming a central battleground for the global electric scooter industry. Gogoro has intensified its expansion there, forming a joint venture with Castrol and planning pilots and product launches in 2026.

Gogoro said it will expand its battery swap network in 2026, retire first-generation batteries, and invest NT$1 billion (approx. US$31.98 million) to add more than 100 swap stations to meet rising rider demand and support international deployment.

Taiwan's car market showed strong resilience in 2025 against headwinds ranging from inventory adjustments, interest rate fluctuations, and geopolitical uncertainties, with total sales for the year reaching 414,000 units. Although slightly down from previous peaks, this figure nevertheless reflects steady demand in the domestic market. As macroeconomic factors and policies stabilize in 2026, the industry expects Taiwan's car market to return to its usual levels, while competition will shift from sales volume toward enhancing value chains and integrating services.

In an interview with Germany's Handelsblatt, Infineon CEO Jochen Hanebeck said the emerging robotics market is expected to generate significant revenue growth and help support the company's stable performance amid margin pressures.

Alphabet's Waymo has refocused competition from pure perception advances to real-world feasibility and business model viability with its sixth-generation autonomous driving hardware system, Gen6, targeting two long-term commercialization bottlenecks: high costs and climate adaptability.

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a severe new warning to U.S. trading partners following a recent Supreme Court decision that quashed his previous global duties.

According to various foreign media reports, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Cars, and Stellantis NV have renewed evaluation, research, and investment in sodium-ion batteries, a technology earlier sidelined due to weight and energy-density limitations.

Uber Technologies Inc. announced on February 18, 2026, that it will invest more than US$100 million to develop specialized charging infrastructure for autonomous vehicles (AVs), marking a significant pivot as the company moves to own physical assets and secure its robotaxi future.