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May 21, 12:15
Exclusive: TOPCon faces funding cuts while HJT and BC receive government support
As China's solar market enters a downfall, market sources indicate that China's central government is reshaping the industry landscape through an aggressive dual-track strategy. On one hand, authorities continue tightening funding for the mainstream tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon) technology. On the other hand, they are launching targeted national-level support measures for higher-efficiency next-generation technologies such as heterojunction (HJT) and back-contact (BC).
Gaia Motors has launched a nationwide channel rollout in Taiwan for its Rapide 3 electric three-wheeler, expanding the vehicle's availability from enterprise fleets to broader commercial applications amid growing demand for compact, efficient urban vehicles.
A quiet but consequential shift is underway in the global automotive industry's race toward electrification and software-defined vehicles. Executives in Taiwan's automotive-electronics supply chain say major Western automakers are increasingly turning to Taiwan after being stunned by the speed at which Taiwanese companies can develop and integrate next-generation electronic systems.
Japan's three largest automakers reported fiscal 2025 results that signal shifting production strategies and significant implications for suppliers across North America and beyond. The outcomes have varied: Toyota and Honda steadied operations amid different pressures, while Nissan moved into deep restructuring after heavy losses.
US President Donald Trump's trip to China with 17 business leaders thrust Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang back into the spotlight — as Beijing's position on Nvidia's H200 chips and China's broader AI supply chain continue to reshape the market narrative.
XPeng unveiled its first mass-produced robotaxi on Tuesday, marking a major milestone in China's rapidly accelerating race to commercialize Level 4 autonomous driving.
Mexico is overhauling its trade barriers, and Taiwanese manufacturers with operations there are only beginning to understand what that means for their bottom line.
General Motors (GM) agreed to pay US$12.75 million to California prosecutors and to delete most collected driving data within 180 days after state authorities found the automaker illegally collected and sold customer driving information, the California Department of Justice announced. The settlement caps a multi-year regulatory backlash that has also included a five-year data-sharing ban imposed by the US Federal Trade Commission in January 2025 and the termination of GM's Smart Driver program in 2024.

As Waymo in the US and Baidu's Apollo Go in China expand robotaxi services on public roads, South Korea's autonomous-driving industry is under pressure to find a viable route of its own.

Hehui Electronics said it expected operations to improve in 2026 as new business in robotics, smart in-vehicle systems, and smart manufacturing gained traction following product demonstrations at Nvidia GTC 2026. The company announced plans to leverage an integrated edge vision-language model and smart mobility capabilities to drive growth and target a return to breakeven in its core business this year, a spokesperson stated.
China's auto market is entering a far more difficult phase. Domestic demand has slowed sharply, and for many carmakers the industry increasingly resembles a road with no visible end. Yet from the perspective of the automotive supply chain, two very different stories are unfolding inside the same market.
At the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, China's shift toward "disposable cars" carries global repercussions: faster refresh cycles could reshape vehicle lifespans, aftermarket ecosystems, and supply-chain standards worldwide. International automakers and suppliers, notably in Taiwan, may face new demands as cars are increasingly designed to iterate like consumer electronics rather than endure as durable assets.