The European Union's newly imposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) are sending a ripple of concern through the global auto industry. In response, BYD, the top EV manufacturer in China, has announced plans to manufacture its Dolphin and Atto 3 models in Europe by 2025, a move aligned with its global expansion strategy

Samsung Electronics has reportedly initiated a large-scale personnel reshuffle, reallocating engineers to its next-generation semiconductor hub in Pyeongtaek. However, the company denied these claims, stating they are unfounded

Chinese SiC substrate vendors are seeking to expand beyond their home market where prices have collapsed amid severe oversupply, according to industry sources

China's domestic electric vehicle (EV) sales have maintained a penetration rate of over 50% for four consecutive months, reflecting strong growth in the domestic market, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on December 11. However, exports of pure EV have shown worrying signs, with only 58,000 units shipped in November—a month-on-month decrease of 43.8% and a year-over-year decline of approximately 29.2%. The drop is believed to be linked to the European Union's recently imposed heavy tariffs on Chinese EVs

China's market regulator launched an antitrust probe into Nvidia, marking Beijing's first major investigation of a US chipmaker in a decade and escalating tensions in the global semiconductor battle

On December 11, 2024, the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced modifications to tariff actions under Section 301 of the Trade Act, targeting specific Chinese products. These measures aim to address long-standing issues related to China's technology transfer, intellectual property practices, and innovation policies. The updated tariffs, which will take effect on January 1, 2025, include new rates on tungsten products, polysilicon, and wafers

Rapidus, a Japanese chipmaker pursuing 2nm chip mass production, has unveiled significant technological breakthroughs developed with IBM, as former lawmaker Akira Amari warns of risks in global semiconductor supply concentration

As competition in the smartphone market intensifies, Samsung Electronics aims to regain its competitive edge with AI features. However, there are concerns regarding the effectiveness of this strategy, as Samsung has revised its cumulative production targets downward for 2025 amid slow growth in production volumes

Nvidia has added hundreds of staff in China this year to enhance its research capabilities and focus on new autonomous driving technologies

At SEMICON Japan 2024 in Tokyo, Rapidus Chairman Tetsuro Higashi revealed that the installation of all equipment for trial production of 2nm chips will be finalized by March 2025, paving the way for production to commence in April

Micron Technology is set to secure up to US$6.2 billion in US subsidies this week, marking the final major agreement under the Biden administration's semiconductor initiative, while Asian tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix remain waiting

China's overall IC design sales are expected to reach CNY646 billion (US$89.66 billion) with a year-over-year increase of around 11.9% in 2024, marking the first time it has been outpaced by the global semiconductor industry growth, estimated at 19% by World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS)

Global EV battery demand outside China increased by 12.7% from January to October 2024. South Korea's top battery makers—LG Energy Solution (LGES), SK On, and Samsung SDI—recorded growth in battery installations during this period

Chinese domestic electronic design automation (EDA) leader Empyrean announced on December 9 that the state-owned China Electronic Corporation (CEC) will become its largest shareholder. Empyrean was included in the latest batch of the US Department of Commerce's Entity List on December 2, and with this new partnership, Empyrean is seen as receiving strong backing from the Chinese government, enhancing control over key semiconductor component enterprises

Japan-based Rohm Semiconductor and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have announced a strategic partnership to advance the development and mass production of gallium nitride (GaN) power devices for electric vehicle (EV) applications. The collaboration combines Rohm's expertise in device development with TSMC's GaN-on-silicon process technology to address the growing demand for high-performance power solutions in the automotive sector