News

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), in partnership with the national automotive associations of Czechia, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia, has launched the ACEA Central and Eastern European Automotive Hub (“the Hub”). This new initiative enhances collaboration between ACEA and national industry bodies to more effectively represent the interests of the Central and Eastern European automotive sector in EU policymaking.

The European Commission has selected six projects dedicated to electric vehicle battery cell production to receive a combined €852 million in funding from the EU’s Innovation Fund. Financed through proceeds from the EU Emissions Trading System, this initiative aims to scale up battery manufacturing in Europe, support decarbonization, and strengthen the regional industry.

Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai) continues to enhance comfort and user experience in its vehicles. As part of its latest upgrade, the company has integrated Google Places into its navigation systems. This new feature is available in all vehicles equipped with the ccNC infotainment system and the latest software update. 

Hyundai and Google have steadily strengthened their partnership in recent years, working together to deliver cutting-edge navigation and infotainment solutions. 

Backed by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), eleven leading automotive companies have agreed to collaborate on open-source software development in a pre-competitive space. This agreement was formalized at the end of June with the signing of a memorandum of understanding during the Automotive Electronics Congress in Ludwigsburg, Germany. The signatories include BMW Group, Robert Bosch, Continental, ETAS, Forvia’s Hella, Mercedes-Benz Group, Qorix, Valeo, Vector Informatik, Volkswagen Group, and ZF Friedrichshafen.

Munich-based robotics startup Filics, a pioneer in autonomous load carrier handling solutions, has successfully closed a €13.5 million financing round. The round attracted new investors including Sandwater, Alven, F-LOG Ventures, and the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund. 

The funding will primarily support the further development of Filics’ robotics platform and the scaling of its product portfolio. Additionally, the company aims to expand internationally.

China’s carmaker Changan has confirmed its intention to build its own plant for electric passenger cars in Europe. They plan a European factory to support their future sales in the region and are searching possible locations for the plant.

Changan joins a number of other Chinese automakers that have already launched sales in Europe, including BYD and Chery.

ABB has launched Flexley Mover® P603 platform AMR, the most compact model in its class to handle payloads of up to 1500 kg. The AMR P603 represents a new generation in ABB’s Autonomous Versatile Robotics lineup, designed for effortless real-time task switching. Powered by AI-driven Visual SLAM navigation, it delivers enhanced speed, intelligence, and safety.

ROHM has introduced the BM6GD11BFJ-LB, an isolated gate driver IC specifically engineered to drive high-voltage GaN HEMTs. When paired with GaN devices, this driver ensures stable performance in high-frequency, high-speed switching environments—supporting enhanced miniaturization and efficiency in high-current applications like motors and server power supplies. Improving the efficiency of these systems increasingly relies on wide bandgap technologies like SiC and GaN, which enable more efficient control and conversion of electrical energy.

The energy price index rose 9.7% in June, driven by an 11.3% surge in crude oil.

Metal and precious metal prices increased by 1.7% and 2.6%, respectively.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a member of India’s Tata Group, has announced the opening of a new engineering center in Romania as part of its strategic growth in Europe. The new facility will specialize in software-defined vehicle (SDV) technologies, establishing Romania as a central hub in the company's development of next-generation mobility solutions. The Romanian center is part of a broader European initiative that includes the opening of two additional automotive delivery hubs in Germany, located in Munich and Villingen-Schwenningen.

A substantial stockholding investment at Ventec International Group’s headquarters in Kirchheimbolanden, Germany, ensures consistent supply and enhances delivery efficiency. The PCB materials specialist—renowned for its innovation, manufacturing, and comprehensive offering of copper-clad laminates, prepregs, process consumables, and PCB production equipment—has established significant inventory volumes of halogen-free FR4.1 and FR15.1 materials at its European hub.

Volvo Cars has entered into a new agreement with Swedish steel manufacturer SSAB to source high-quality, recycled, near zero-emissions steel beginning in 2025. This makes Volvo Cars the first automotive company to secure a supply deal with SSAB for this type of steel for use in serial production. The agreement builds on the companies' longstanding partnership and reflects their shared commitment to leading the shift toward more sustainable steel solutions.

TotalEnergies announced the acquisition from Low Carbon, a leading renewable energy company, of a pipeline of 8 solar projects with a capacity of 350 MW and 2 battery storage projects with a capacity of 85 MW. As the solar projects are at an advanced stage of development, the target is that they could be operational by 2028. They will produce more than 350 GWh/year of renewable electricity, equivalent to the electricity consumption of around 100,000 UK households.

Samsung Electronics has announced it has published a joint research paper titled “Nano-Engineered Thin-Film Thermoelectric Materials Enable Practical Solid-State Refrigeration” with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The paper details the development of a next-generation Peltier cooling technology. 

The newly developed Peltier device demonstrated significant advantages in terms of resource efficiency and mass production.

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