Market News

BYD and FAW intend to invest in drone maker DJI's auto unit, report says

DJI Automotive, the automotive arm of Chinese drone maker DJI, has already received investment intent from BYD and FAW, and the parties are currently moving forward with the financing process, local media outlet 36kr reported today.

In terms of valuation, DJI Automotive is asking for about 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) from investment institutions, according to the report.

DJI Automotive, formerly DJI's automotive business unit, became an independent company in October 2022 when it was spun off from the drone maker.

On April 2, 2023, DJI Automotive announced its next-generation smart driving solution, which enables L2+ assisted driving functions, including city pilot assisted driving, without the need for high-precision maps or LiDARs, at a computing power as low as 32 Tops.

In a report on April 7, 2023, 36kr said that BYD will use the assisted driving solution provided by DJI Automotive in some of its models.

Comment: The intelligent driving solution provided by DJI Automotive also designs its liDAR, which makes the firm one of the few intelligent driving technology companies in the industry with both software and hardware capabilities. At present, DJI Automotive has built cooperation relationships with SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW), FAW-Volkswagen, BYD, Chery, etc. With its unique algorithmic solutions and cost-control capabilities, DJI Automotive is providing low-cost smart driving solutions and is already being used in models including SGMW's Baojun-branded Yunduo EV and the Chery iCar 03, 36kr's report today noted.

Amazon's AWS to invest $10 billion for two data centers in Mississippi

Amazon.com's AWS, said on Thursday it plans to invest $10 billion to build two data center complexes in Mississippi, its latest capacity expansion amid growing demand for cloud services as more firms adopt new artificial intelligence technologies.

Businesses are doubling down on AI development and majority of that traffic is expected to be managed on the cloud infrastructure from AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft's Azure, — the top three vendors globally.

Comment: AWS' Mississippi expansion plan comes days after it announced a more than $15 billion investment in Japan, and Google's move to set up a data center just outside of London for $1 billion.

Europe will miss 2030 chip market goal, says ASML CEO

Europe will miss its goal of raising its share of the global computer chip market to 20% by 2030 because it is not building manufacturing capacity fast enough, semiconductor equipment maker ASML CEO Peter Wennink said.

The European share of the global computer chip market "is 8% at best," the outgoing chief of Europe's largest tech company said in an interview following ASML earnings on Wednesday.

Wennink said that worries China is overinvesting in chip-making capacity are misplaced. In the face of U.S.-led restrictions on exports of advanced computer chip technologies to China, its chipmakers are flocking to older technology to manufacture chips, including many used in electric cars and solar panels.

But Wennink said China, the world's second-biggest economy and largest industrial manufacturer, imports more semiconductors than oil, and it has nearly bottomless demand for those older chips.

Comment: ASML equipment sales to China hit 6.3 billion euros ($6.9 billion) in 2023, or 29% of its total, compared to around 4% to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Apple's iPhone shipments in China drop 2% in Q4 as Huawei grows market share

Shipment volume in China's smartphone market was 73.90 million units in the fourth quarter, down 1% from a year earlier. For the full year, shipment volume was 271 million units, down 5%.

Apple shipped 17.5 million units in the fourth quarter, topping the list. Honor followed in second place with a 16 percent market share, shipping 11.7 million units.

Canalys analysts said that Huawei came out as a dark horse this quarter, returning to the top five list of shipments in the Chinese market after 10 quarters.

Sources: Canalys

Comment: Mate 60 Pro equipped with innovative functions like self-developed Kirin chips and satellite calls, successfully boosted Huawei's recovery. Besides, as Kirin chips have been used in the Nova series and other models, Huawei's market share will also be further improved in the mid-market.

BYD launches production at its plant in Uzbekistan

BYD's plant in Uzbekistan has started production, which is expected to support the Chinese NEV maker's overseas sales. 

Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited BYD's Shenzhen headquarters on January 25 and met with the NEV maker's chairman and president Wang Chuanfu, BYD said today.

Mirziyoyev and Wang participated remotely in a production launch ceremony at BYD's Uzbekistan plant and witnessed the first vehicle produced at the facility -- a Song Plus DM-i -- roll off the assembly line.

At the same time, Wang delivered to Mirziyoyev BYD's 10,000th NEV in Uzbekistan, a Yangwang U8.

Comment: BYD is also building NEV plants in Thailand, Brazil, and Hungary. In addition to manufacturing overseas, the company is increasing exports from China.