Following an eight-month anti-subsidy investigation, the EU announced on June 12th that it will increase the temporary tariff rate on all Chinese electric vehicle companies from the current 10% to as high as 38.1%. According to a report from CNBC, the European Commission warned that if an agreement on automotive production capacity with China cannot be reached, the new tariffs will be implemented around July 4th.

Per the same report, the European Commission has announced the latest tariff rates, imposing additional tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers BYD, Geely, and SAIC Group at rates of 17.4%, 20%, and 38.1%, respectively.

Other companies cooperating with the investigation will be subject to a 21% tariff, while non-cooperating companies will face tariffs as high as 38.1%. American automotive giant Tesla’s electric vehicles produced in China will be subject to a separate tariff rate following the investigation.

As per another report from BBC cited by Commercial Times, nearly 50% of the electric vehicles exported from China to the EU are from Western car brands such as Tesla, Volkswagen, and BMW, with Tesla alone accounting for about 40%. In contrast, the annual sales of Chinese electric vehicle brands in Europe are less than 200,000 units, with a market share of less than 8%, mainly represented by BYD, SAIC Group (which owns the European brand MG), and Geely.

Per a report from the Global Times on June 12th, China’s Ministry of Commerce strongly reacted, expressing discontent on the matter. China, reportedly, will closely monitor the EU’s subsequent actions and take all necessary measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers also expressed deep regret and stated that the decision is absolutely unacceptable.

Although the EU has decided to impose high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, there are still differing opinions among various parties. The German government and automotive industry have reacted most strongly, fearing it could ignite a China-EU trade war.

As per a report from Barron’s, German Transport Minister Volker Wissing stated that, “The European Commission’s punitive tariffs hit German companies and their top products. Cars must become cheaper through more competition, open markets and significantly better business conditions in the EU, not through trade war and market isolation.”

Per a report from Reuters, BMW Group Chairman Oliver Zipse stated that the European Commission’s decision to impose tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles is a wrong way to go. Volkswagen expressed that the European Commission’s decision detrimental to the current weak demand for BEV vehicles in Germany and Europe.

Read more

• [News] EU Reportedly Delays Decision on Imposing Tariffs on Chinese Electric Cars
• [News] Punitive Tariffs on Chinese EVs by US Reportedly to Further Hinder BYD, Leapmotor and Others’ Global Expansion Plan, while EU Investigation Persists

(Photo credit: Pixabay)

The ongoing tightening of US restrictions on China’s access to advanced chips and production equipment may have significant impact on China’s semiconductor development progress. According to a report from Liberty Times, a top executive at Huawei, a Chinese tech giant, admitted that China’s ambitious semiconductor efforts may have reached a plateau. This statement has surprised many in the industry, as China has consistently expressed confidence in its semiconductor growth capabilities.

During the Mobile Computility Network Conference in Suzhou, China on June 9th, Zhang Ping’an, the Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Cloud Services, expressed concern that China, due to US sanctions, is unable to purchase 3.5nm chip equipment.

Recently, Huawei successfully mass-produced 7nm chips without using lithography technology. This development has surprised the global semiconductor market and has led to speculation that Huawei may soon also mass-produce 5nm chips.

Per a report from Business Korea, Zhang further noted that manufacturing 3.5 nm semiconductors necessitates EUV lithography machines, which Huawei is reportedly working on independently. However, overcoming U.S. and Dutch patents to internalize this technology is considered highly challenging.

Previously, as per a report from Chinese media outlet “Phoenix New Media,” Zhang Ping’an also pointed out that the semiconductor industry in China currently cannot directly compete with developed countries in cutting-edge processes, such as 3nm and 5nm. This is an indisputable fact, but it does not mean that China’s semiconductor industry has no prospects for development. Furthermore, Zhang believed that the semiconductor industry in China should be more focused on deepening efforts in relatively mature processes, such as 7nm, to enhance product performance and reliability, meeting the needs of the market and users.

Moreover, some Chinese manufacturers are exploring ways to overcome these restrictions. Notably, Chinese DRAM manufacturer ChangXin Memory Technologies is reportedly preparing to mass-produce 18.5nm DRAM to circumvent US sanctions on DRAM equipment below 18nm.

Read more

• [News] Huawei Executive Acknowledges Production Bottleneck, Addressing that Solving 7nm Issues Would be Good Enough 
• [News] China’s Big Fund Phase Three Commences, Injecting 344 Billion RMB into Semiconductor Industry Growth

(Photo credit: iStock)

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger gave a keynote speech at the 2024 COMPUTEX TAIPEI yesterday. According to a report from UDN, Gelsinger addressed that the U.S. must carefully find an appropriate balance in its chip ban against China to avoid pushing China to accelerate the development of its own chips. He stated that Intel’s technology holds a competitive advantage in China and will continue to export appropriate products to China.

Regarding the AI era, Gelsinger mentioned that all devices will eventually become AI devices, and all businesses will become AI businesses. He also introduced Intel’s foundry services as the first production system designed for the AI era. He stated that AI will be ubiquitous, its applications including AI PCs, end devices, enterprise products, and data centers.

At a press conference following the event, Gelsinger was asked about the development of Intel’s foundry services. He noted that everything is on track, with the goal of achieving this through a more flexible and balanced supply chain.

Regarding whether the U.S. chip export ban is prompting China to accelerate its chip development, Gelsinger said that the ban acts like a “magic line.” If the bans are too strict, it could force China to speed up the development of its own chips, so it is indeed crucial to carefully find the appropriate balance.

Per a report from tom’s hardware, Gelsinger agrees on strict restrictions on manufacturing technology, particularly emphasizing limitations on EUV lithography, which he believes will curb Chinese chipmakers’ capabilities to keep American companies competitive in China.

Notably, per Reuters citing sources, the U.S. government has reportedly revoked the licenses of Intel and Qualcomm to supply semiconductor chips used in laptops and handsets to Huawei. Some companies received notices on May 7th, and the revocation of the licenses took immediate effect.

Read more

• [News] Intel CEO Gelsinger Unveils Lunar Lake Processors, Giving Credit to TSMC
• [News] U.S. Imposes Further Sanctions, Revoking Intel and Qualcomm’s License to Supply Chips to Huawei

(Photo credit: iStock)

On May 31, STMicroelectronics announced to build a new high-volume 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) facility in Catania, Italy, for power devices and modules as well as test and packaging.

According to a report from WeChat account DRAMeXchange, the new plant aims to commence production in 2026 and ramp to full capacity by 2033, with a full production capacity of up to 15,000 wafers per week. The total investment is expected to be around EUR 5 billion, with a support of around EUR 2 billion provided by the State of Italy in the framework of the EU Chips Act.

ST stated that Catania Silicon Carbide Campus will serve as the central hub of ST’ s global SiC ecosystem, integrating all steps in the production flow, including SiC substrate development, epitaxial growth processes, 200mm front-end wafer fabrication and module back-end assembly, as well as process R&D, product design, advanced R&D labs for dies, power systems and modules, and full packaging capabilities. This will achieve a first of a kind in Europe for the mass production of 200mm SiC wafers.

Currently, ST is producing its flagship high-volume SiC products on two 150mm wafer production lines in Catania, Italy, and Ang Mo Kio, Singapore. The third center is a joint venture between ST and San’an, which is now building a 200mm plant in Chongqing, China, dedicated to serving ST’s Chinese customers.

ST’s wafer production facilities are supported by automotive-qualified, high-volume assembly and test operations in Bouskoura (Morocco) and Shenzhen (China). SiC substrate R&D and industrialization is undertaken in Norrköping (Sweden) and Catania, where ST’s SiC substrates manufacturing facility is ramping up production and most of ST’s SiC product R&D and design staff are based.

SiC is a compound semiconductor material with inherent properties that offer superior performance and efficiency in power applications compared to silicon. Driven by market demands in new energy vehicles, photovoltaic storage applications, the usage volume of SiC power devices continues to rise.

As per TrendForce’s survey, the market size of global SiC Power Device was around USD 3.04 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to USD 9.17 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 25%.

Read more

• [News] A Price War in SiC Wafer Sector seems to Start
• [News] Continuous Breakthroughs in SiC Substrates, Global 8-Inch Fab to Reach 11

(Photo credit: STMicroelectronics )

According to a report from Chinese media outlet “Phoenix New Media,” Zhang Ping’an, Executive Director of Huawei and CEO of Huawei Cloud Computing Technologies, acknowledged that China is unlikely to achieve 3nm or 5nm processes and emphasized that solving issues relating to 7nm would be good enough.

Zhang pointed out that the semiconductor industry in China currently cannot directly compete with developed countries in cutting-edge processes, such as 3nm and 5nm. This is an indisputable fact, but it does not mean that China’s semiconductor industry has no prospects for development, the report noted.

Zhang believed that the semiconductor industry in China should be more focused on deepening efforts in relatively mature processes, such as 7nm, to enhance product performance and reliability, meeting the needs of the market and users.

Zhang further emphasized that the innovation direction of China’s semiconductor industry should not be limited to any single-point chip processes alone. Moreover, overemphasis on advanced processes may lead to the ignorance of optimization and innovation in system architecture, which potentially resulting to bottlenecks in overall performance.

He also stated that China’s semiconductor industry should pay more attention to innovation in system architecture. By optimizing the collaborative work between chips and systems, overall performance can be enhanced, thereby gaining greater competitive advantages in the global market.

Read more

• [News] Huawei, OrangePi Introduced Kunpeng Pro, with Mystery AI Processor Packaged Inside
• [News] NVIDIA Reportedly Facing Price Cut Pressure of H20 Chip in China Amid Competition with Huawei

(Photo credit: Huawei)