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Cox Automotive estimates US new vehicle sales to reach around 14.9 million units in May, a 2.3 million Y/Y increase but a decline from April's 15.9 million. Affordability issues, including high-interest rates and elevated new-vehicle prices, continue to impact sales negatively. New vehicle inventory increased to 1.9 million units, up from 1.1 million a year ago.

Overall, the global EV market is experiencing growth, with Tesla making strategic moves to increase market share. However, challenges such as financing costs, revenue gaps, and affordability issues continue to affect the auto industry in different regions.

The automotive industry is currently facing an unprecedented shortage of integrated circuits (ICs), causing parts shortages at auto plants, extended wait times for certain makes and models, and higher prices for cars not yet considered. To address the issue, automakers have begun stockpiling ICs, shifted production plans, and implemented incentives for suppliers who increase production. IBS Electronics is a reliable provider of alternative components for automotive applications, offering quality products and services at competitive prices. This shortage is expected to constrain auto production well into 2023, and only an improvement in chip manufacturing capacity will mitigate this increasingly critical issue.

6G, the latest generation of cellular network technology, is quickly becoming the talk of the telecom industry, with executives from Nokia, Microsoft, and Qualcomm discussing the most promising use cases and making plans to establish research laboratories to develop the technology. This new technology promises faster connections, increased speeds, improved device autonomy, ultra-low latency applications, and improved security protocols, with potential applications ranging from virtual classrooms or workplaces to remote medical treatment sessions. 6G has the potential to revolutionize the world, ushering in a new era of digital transformation.

Since the debut of the first Augmented Reality (AR) smart glasses product in 2011, numerous firms have introduced variations of consumer-focused smart glasses and headgear, but mass-market consumer adoption has been slow due to bulky, heavy, and costly components. To address these issues, researchers at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have been working to create the next generation of lenses that use nanostructures to focus light and are thinner, lighter, and more cost-effective. Now, Taiwanese companies are gearing up to meet the surge in demand for metalens-based VR and AR systems from Meta, Sony, and Apple, which are set to arrive in late February 2023.

In the last quarter, demand for semiconductors drove sales growth, however, the outlook for Q4 looks dim as demand for semiconductors in all applications significantly weakened, leading to major chip foundries rolling back their capital expenditure. This has caused a shortage of components and price hikes, resulting in inventory adjustments and price drops in the consumer electronics industry. Experts predict that this trend will continue throughout the first half of 2023, urging supply chain professionals to digitize to avoid difficulties.