With autonomous vehicles and service robots ushering in a new era of "physical AI," the spotlight is once again on core sensing technologies. While Tesla CEO Elon Musk has famously championed vision-based systems over LiDAR, South Korean startup SOS Lab believes laser-based sensing is poised for a comeback, thanks to breakthroughs in size, clarity, and safety.

Despite foreign exchange fluctuations and seasonal factors decreasing June revenue, LED automotive lighting module manufacturer Laster Tech still achieved a record-high consolidated revenue for the first half of 2025.

President Donald Trump unleashed his latest tariff ultimatums, declaring a 30% rate for Mexico and the European Union, as his trade agenda continues to keep allies off balance and inject uncertainty into global financial markets.

Hyundai Motor is considering the construction of a third electric vehicle (EV) plant in Europe as part of its broader strategy to capitalize on the region's EV recovery and offset potential risks from rising US trade barriers. The automaker sees Europe as both a strategic growth market and a manufacturing base to navigate tariff-related headwinds through localized production.

The US has unveiled its latest round of reciprocal tariffs, set to take effect on August 1, 2025. Countries that have yet to reach an agreement with President Donald Trump's administration now face the near-certainty of increased tariffs, adding fresh strain to global trade negotiations.

Japanese and South Korean automakers are beginning to pass rising trade costs onto American consumers as hopes for a swift resolution to tariff negotiations with the US continue to fade.

In a bid to pull itself out of a deepening business crisis, Nissan Motor has announced sweeping structural reforms that could drastically reshape its production network and leave thousands of Japanese suppliers in peril.

Nissan will start producing its compact SUV, the Kicks, at the Oppama plant in Kanagawa Prefecture in the second half of fiscal 2025 (October 2025 to March 2026), according to Nikkei. The decision targets raising plant utilization, which has dropped to approximately 40%, far below the 80% breakeven point.

China's auto sales reached 2.08 million units in June, marking the highest monthly total since June 2022. Analysts believe the spike was likely driven by consumers accelerating purchases in anticipation of cuts or shifts to government subsidy programs.

Kurt Sievers, the CEO of Dutch semiconductor giant NXP Semiconductors, who is set to officially step down at the end of October 2025, recently visited Shanghai and met with the mayor of Shanghai, Zheng Gong. Sievers stated that the Chinese market has become NXP's largest single global market. The company values its cooperation with Chinese enterprises and believes that success in China will translate into global success. Notably, Sievers' successor, Rafael Sotomayor, also accompanied him on this trip, underscoring NXP's strong emphasis on the Chinese market.