China's blistering pace of new-car launches — expected to average four new vehicles a day in the first half of 2026 — is shifting from a market-winning tactic to a key driver of industry reshuffling and shakeouts, intensifying cutthroat competition in the auto market.
Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor Group used the San Francisco AI Summit to outline separate artificial intelligence (AI) expansion plans spanning semiconductors, autonomous driving and robotics.
As the global electric vehicle (EV) market enters a growth adjustment phase, the auto industry is shifting from "electrification" toward "intelligence," while AI agents move rapidly from the cloud to end devices. Qualcomm says the end devices with which future AI agents will mainly interact include about 6 billion smartphones, 2 billion AI wearables, 2 billion PCs, and 500 million connected cars, underscoring how vehicles are becoming a key gateway to AI services.
US efforts to restrict Chinese technology from connected vehicles are expanding beyond hardware and software sourcing, as proposed legislation introduces ownership thresholds that could affect even automakers headquartered outside China.
Surging AI server demand is reshaping supply and demand across the global memory market. With DRAM prices rising sharply over the past year, the resulting cost pressure is beginning to spill into the automotive industry.
Amnon Shashua will step down as CEO of autonomous driving technology supplier Mobileye once the company appoints a successor, marking the biggest leadership transition since he co-founded the Israeli firm in 1999.
