Weekly News

Contents:

1.?Apple's Sales in India Surge, Global Smartphone Market Rebounds.

2.?U.S. Establishing Chip Packaging Supply Chain in Latin America.

3.?European Auto Market H1 2024: Overall Growth, Challenges for Electric Vehicles.

4.?AI and HBM Boost Japan's Semiconductor Equipment Sales to 4 Trillion Yen.

5.?Global PC Market Rebounds in Q2 2024, AI PCs Expected to Surge in H2.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ???

1.?Apple's Sales in India Surge, Global Smartphone Market Rebounds.

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Apple achieved significant growth in the Indian market, with annual sales reaching a record nearly $8 billion, up 33% year-on-year, despite holding only a 3.5% share of the Indian smartphone market. The global smartphone market?showed signs of recovery, with Q2 2024 global smartphone sales up 6% year-on-year. Samsung led with a 20% market share, followed by Apple at 16%. Xiaomi emerged as the fastest-growing brand, with a 27% annual growth rate, increasing its market share to 15%.?

According to Counterpoint Research analysts, “The growth in smartphone sales over the past three quarters is a positive sign for the industry. We are seeing features like CMF (Color-Material-Finish), high-pixel cameras, and?5G increasingly entering lower price segments, which is expected to stimulate demand further. We remain optimistic for the coming quarters, with the market projected to grow 4% in 2024.

Comment:?The smartphone market is entering a new era, driven by stable sales growth due to replacement cycles, with a projected 4% increase in 2024. A noticeable trend towards premium devices is emerging, particularly with the?rise of foldable phones and GenAI features. Both Samsung and Apple are advancing high-end product strategies. Apple is expected to launch a new iPhone featuring Apple Intelligence in the second half of the year to drive market?upgrade demands.

2.?U.S. Establishing Chip Packaging Supply Chain in Latin America.

The US government, through the CHIPS and Science Act and the CHIPS ITSI program, is establishing a semiconductor packaging supply chain in Latin America to strengthen semiconductor manufacturing and ensure supply chain?security and diversification. While the US plans to increase domestic semiconductor production by the end of the decade, much of the packaging work is still done in Asia, making this strategy crucial for supply chain complexity.?

The US Department of Commerce has announced an investment of up to $1.6 billion for packaging technology development. The CHIPS ITSI program aims to enhance semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging capabilities?in Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica, supporting these countries' semiconductor ecosystems through public-private partnerships. Additionally, the ITSI fund will provide $500 million over five years, with $100 million annually,?to promote the development of secure and reliable telecommunications networks.

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Comment:?These measures reflect the US's commitment to strengthening its position in the global semiconductor market and will directly benefit the US and its allies.

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3. European Auto Market H1 2024: Overall Growth, Challenges for Electric Vehicles.

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In the first half of 2024, the European auto market showed signs of recovery, with new car registrations rising 4.4% year-on-year to 6.88 million units. In June alone, registrations reached 1.31 million units, up 3.6% year-on-year. Italy,?Germany, Spain, and the UK all saw growth, while France experienced a decline. Despite a slight 0.1% increase in electric vehicle sales in June, market share slightly decreased. Italy's market surged due to new government subsidies,?while Germany, France, and the Netherlands saw declines.

Key Points:

• European new car registrations reached 1.31 million in June, up 3.6% year-on-year.
• In the first half of the year, new car registrations totaled approximately 6.88 million, up 4.4% year-on-year.
• In June, new car registrations increased by 15.1% in Italy, 6.1% in Germany, 2.2% in Spain, and 1.1% in the UK, while France saw a 4.8% decline.
• In the first half of the year, car sales grew by 6% in the UK, 5.9% in Spain, 5.4% in Germany and Italy, and 2.8% in France.
• Electric vehicle sales in Europe increased by 0.1% year-on-year in June, with market share dropping from 16.5% to 15.9%.
• Italy's electric vehicle deliveries more than doubled, while France, Germany, and the Netherlands saw declines of 10.3%, 18.1%, and 15%, respectively.
• From January to June, European electric vehicle sales reached 950,000 units, up 1.6% year-on-year, with market share dropping from 14.2% to 13.9%.
• The removal of electric vehicle subsidies in Germany led to a 16.4% market decline in the first half of the year.
• Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, and Renault Group saw European sales growth of 3.4%, 0.1%, and 3.8% in the first half of the year.
• Tesla's sales in Europe dropped by 7.2% in June and 12% in the year's first half.
• The average price of electric vehicles in Europe is around €65,000, double that of traditional models.
• The removal of subsidies in Germany and Sweden led to a decline in electric vehicle registrations in the first half of the year.
• The subsidy policy introduced in early June in Italy more than doubled electric vehicle registrations for the month.

Comment:?Overall, in the first half of the year, sales of electric vehicles in Europe reached 950,000 units, a slight increase of 1.6% year-on-year, but market share declined. Tesla's sales in the European market showed a downward trend, while Volkswagen Group, Stellantis, and Renault Group maintained steady growth.

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4.?AI and HBM Boost Japan's Semiconductor Equipment Sales to 4 Trillion Yen.

According to the latest forecast by the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), driven by the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) chips and high-bandwidth memory (HBM), Japan's semiconductor equipment?sales?for the fiscal year 2024 are expected to surpass 4 trillion yen for the first time, reaching a record high of 4.2522 trillion yen, a 15.0% year-on-year increase. This growth forecast has been revised upward by 5.4%. With the recovery?in?memory investment and robust investment in logic foundries, sales for?the?fiscal year 2025 are expected to grow by 10% to 4.6774 trillion yen and further increase by 10% in the fiscal year 2026, reaching 5.1452 trillion yen, breaking?the 5 trillion yen mark for the first time.

In flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing equipment, due to OLED investments in G8.6 substrates by South Korea and China, sales for the fiscal year 2024 are expected to grow by 30% to 335.1 billion yen. Sales are expected to increase?by?10% in 2025, reaching 368.6 billion yen. SEAJ also predicts that with the continuous penetration of AI technology, the demand for GPUs and HBM for AI servers will increase, and the emergence of AI PCs and AI smartphones will?trigger?a new wave of equipment upgrades. Additionally, AI applications in AR, VR, digital twins, new energy vehicles, and autonomous driving will continue to expand, further driving the demand for semiconductor equipment. SEAJ?President?Toshiki Kawai predicts that by 2027, 30% to 40% of PCs and smartphones will be equipped with AI, significantly boosting the demand for semiconductor equipment.

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Comment:?By 2026, the continuous penetration of AI technology is expected to drive a wave of equipment upgrades in areas such as AI servers, AI PCs, and AI smartphones, further increasing the demand for semiconductor equipment.?HBM, as a key semiconductor memory technology, is becoming increasingly important in AI and other high-performance computing applications due to its high-speed data transfer capabilities.

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5.?Global PC Market Rebounds in Q2 2024, AI PCs Expected to Surge in H2.

In Q2 2024, global PC shipments grew by 3.1% year-on-year, reaching 62.5 million units. This marks the second consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth, driven by a mild upgrade cycle and a relatively low base, highlighting the?sustained recovery momentum of the global PC market in 2024. AI PCs remain the hottest topic in the PC industry, with laptops powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X platform leading the first wave of AI notebook excitement. The?upcoming AMD Ryzen AI 300 and Intel Lunar Lake, expected to be released in late Q3 2024, will further drive the adoption of AI PCs.

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Despite weak demand in the Chinese market, Lenovo maintained its leading position among PC manufacturers with a 23.6% market share and approximately 4% year-on-year shipment growth. Thanks to the return of North American orders to normal levels, HP and Dell performed steadily this quarter, holding market shares of 21% and 16%, respectively. Apple's performance remained stable, with a market share of 8.5%, as the company anticipates the launch?of new MacBooks with M4 chips to boost shipments by the end of 2024. These brands' rankings and market shares?remained largely unchanged in Q2 2024.

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Comment:?Compared to mainstream x86 architecture solutions, these Qualcomm Snapdragon-based devices offer better power efficiency. The collaboration between MediaTek and Nvidia on the next generation of ARM-based AI laptops?will also drive market share growth in 2025-2026, potentially impacting the market share of x86 manufacturers.?

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