Audi’s rebranding experiment backfires as Germany’s big-three automakers plunge into China’s price wars

Volkswagen AG’s “in China for China” strategy is facing an uphill battle in the market after less than six months, with the company now entering a fierce pricing war that has spread from the electric vehicle (EV) market to internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, and even dragging BMW and Mercedes-Benz into the crossfire.

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Seoul’s AW 2026: Hyundai debuts MobED as China’s humanoid leaders move in

Hyundai Motor Group’s Robotics LAB will showcase its CES Best of Innovation Award-winning mobile robot platform, Mobile Eccentric Droid (MobED), at Smart Factory &Automation World (AW) 2026, underscoring the rapid expansion of AI-driven and humanoid robotics in manufacturing. Held from March 4-6 at Coex in Seoul, AW 2026 is positioning itself beyond a traditional smart factory exhibition, reflecting the industry’s accelerating shift toward AI-native production systems, intelligent logistics, and next-generation robotics.

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Taiwan Mobile highlights trends toward ‘AI Native’ workflows, Open APIs at MWC 2026

The 2026 Mobile World Congress (MWC) is taking place from March 2-5 in Barcelona, Spain, focusing this year on how AI and smart connectivity are driving industry upgrade momentum in “The IQ Era.” Taiwan Mobile’s delegation to MWC 2026 will be headed by company president Jamie Lin, accompanied for the first time by chief information officer Rock Tsai, who points to the increasingly cloud-based and software-driven nature of both core networks and network management as the global telecom industry advances in integrating AI.

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DDI maker FocalTech takes US$41 million impairment hit, doubles down on OLED touch and automotive ICs

FocalTech Systems, a display driver IC (DDI) supplier, held an earnings conference on February 26. Chairman Genda Hu said 2025 operations came in below expectations, as the fading effect of China’s subsidy programs and memory shortages weakened smartphone demand, with possible headwinds continuing into 2026. The first quarter is a seasonal low point, with demand expected to recover gradually from the second quarter.

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Memory price surge spreads to servers; Wiwynn flags sharp post-holiday cost jump

Memory price increases are beginning to affect the server market. Wiwynn said that in 2025, server customers and memory suppliers were protected by long-term pricing agreements, but price growth accelerated sharply after the 2026 Lunar New Year. Customer demand remains unchanged. Higher memory costs will pressure ODM gross margins, while final profit and earnings per share (EPS) are expected to remain stable.

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