DATAPOINT OF THE WEEK: New car registrations in Europe increased 10.6% Y/Y and 56.4% M/M, reflecting strong rebound following the slow seasonality of the Holiday period, according to ACEA data. BEV sales surged 21.9% Y/Y and 62.9% M/M, making September the 8th month in the last 9 to see Y/Y BEV growth. BEVs accounted for 21.0% of the market in September, up from 19.1% in September 2024. PHEV sales also saw significant growth, rising 62.6% Y/Y and 59.9% M/M. This marks the 7th straight month of strong double-digit Y/Y growth, including the last 3 months having >50% Y/Y growth. HEVs increased 15.3% Y/Y and 64.6% M/M in September. HEVs now account for 35.2% of the market, up from 33.7% in September 2024. ICE registrations declined 8.2% Y/Y in September, marking its 15th straight month of Y/Y declines.
Headlines:
Auto/Transportation
- BorgWarner announced that 3Q revenue rises 4.1% on strong turbocharger and powertrain demand
- BYD reports 3Q net income down 33% Y/Y with total revenue falling 3% Y/Y on domestic competition and regulatory pressure
- China signals shift in EV policy by ending broad subsidies in 2026–2030 plan, focusing on innovation and market competition, says Reuters
- Ford plans $370M India investment to produce high-end engines for export starting 2029, according to Bloomberg
- GM announces plans to cut US EV and battery production, laying off 1,750 workers amid slowing demand
- Japan automakers consider reverse imports of US-built cars to signal trade cooperation despite minimal impact and practical hurdles
- Lucid plans L4 EV using Nvidia DRIVE AGX Thor chips, targeting broader market, while leveraging Nvidia software to boost production speed and quality
- Nexperia chip crisis forces global automakers and Tier 1s to reduce production and scramble for supply, according to Reuters and Bloomberg
- Nissan expects $1.82B annual operating loss on US tariffs and supply chain risks, with 1H loss narrowing to $199M
- Toyota reports September global production up 11% Y/Y to ~918k vehicles on strong US hybrid demand and recovery from last year’s suspensions
Datacenter
- Amazon announces plans to cut ~14k corporate jobs globally to streamline operations and adopt AI across multiple divisions
- Amazon reports 3Q AWS revenue up 20% Y/Y on strong AI demand, driving 4Q revenue forecast above expectations
- Microsoft reports F1Q revenue up 18% Y/Y with Azure cloud growth of 40%, driven by record $35B AI infrastructure capex and expects F2Q slightly above forecasts
- Microsoft and OpenAI restructure with OpenAI as a $500B public benefit corporation, Microsoft keeps 27% stake and secures $250B Azure deal while OpenAI Foundation retains control
Industrial
- Airbus delays A220 assembly to 14 jets per month by late 2026 due to supply chain and production challenges
- ·Foxconn to deploy humanoid robots at Houston AI server plant using Nvidia’s Isaac GR00T, targeting 1Q26, while scaling AI server production across US facilities
IP&E
- China considers stricter copper smelting limits as processing fees hit record lows, with measures aimed at curbing overcapacity in nonferrous metals and stabilizing industry profits, says Reuters
- Corning reports 3Q core sales of $4.27B, with optical communications revenue missing estimates, but issues strong 4Q guidance and expands Apple glass partnership
Semiconductors
- AMD partners with US Energy Department to build $1B Oak Ridge supercomputers using AI chips, aiming to accelerate research in energy, quantum computing, and biomedical simulations
- Flex reports record F2Q revenue of $6.8B on strong demand and AI-related data center investments, raising full-year outlook to $27.3B
- GlobalFoundries announces plans to invest €1.1B to expand Dresden fab, targeting over 1M wafers/year by 2028 for automotive, IoT, defense, and advanced compute applications
- Global silicon wafer shipments projected to rise 5.4% in 2025 to 12,824 MSI on AI demand, reaching 15,485 MSI by 2028, according to SEMI
- India approves seven electronic-component projects worth $625M to boost domestic semiconductor supply chain, creating 5.1k jobs
- Intel in early talks to acquire AI chipmaker SambaNova to boost AI GPU ambitions for 2026, according to Bloomberg
- MediaTek reports 3Q revenue of $4.64B, driven by AI accelerator ASICs, with $1B cloud AI chip revenue expected in 2026 and partnerships with Nvidia on GB10
- Nvidia CEO Huang announces seven US Department of Energy supercomputers, including “Solstice” with 100k Blackwell chips worth $3–4B for AI and energy research
- Nvidia CEO Huang says he hopes Blackwell AI chips can be sold in China, noting export restrictions favor domestic firms like Huawei
- Nvidia and Deutsche Telekom plan a €1B AI data center in Munich with 10k GPUs, targeting SAP as a key customer to boost Europe’s AI infrastructure, says Bloomberg
- Nvidia to invest $1B for 2.9% stake in Nokia, partnering to develop AI networking solutions with 2027 deployment for 5G and 6G
- Nvidia to deploy 100k robotaxis by 2027 with Uber, Stellantis, and Foxconn using Drive AGX Hyperion 10, advancing its Level 4 autonomy and broader physical AI strategy
- NXP reported 3Q revenue of $3.17B, down 2.4% Y/Y but above guidance, driven by steady demand across automotive, industrial, and mobile markets
- Qualcomm unveiled two new AI data center chips set for release in 2026 and 2027, as part of its push to diversify beyond smartphones and challenge Nvidia’s dominance
- Samsung Electronics announced record 3Q revenue of $19.5B and an operating profit of $4.92B, up 80% Y/Y, driven by strong demand for memory chips amid the AI infrastructure boom
- Samsung Electronics is in advanced talks to supply its next-generation HBM4 memory chips to Nvidia, joining SK Hynix, according to Reuters
- SK hynix announced record 3Q revenue of $17.8B driven by strong demand for DRAM and NAND memory amid the AI infrastructure boom
- Skyworks Solutions and Qorvo announced a $22B stock-and-cash merger on Tuesday, creating one of the largest US suppliers of RF chips for smartphones, including Apple
- Substrate, a US startup, said it has developed a chipmaking tool using X-ray lithography that can rival the most advanced equipment from Dutch firm ASML
- Wolfspeed forecasted F2Q revenue of $170M, below expectations, reflecting ongoing challenges in the SiC market and rising competition from STMicroelectronics and Infineon
Consumer/Other
- US and China agree on tariff reduction, temporary pause on rare earth export controls, with one-year suspension of new US Entity List restrictions
- US and Japan sign agreements on critical mineral supply chains and tariffs to strengthen alliance amid East Asia security tensions
- US and South Korea reach trade deal setting auto tariffs at 15% and creating $350B investment fund for chips and shipbuilding cooperation
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