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Gartner Identifies Key Automotive Trends for 2025
January 20, 2025 | Gartner, Inc.Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Gartner, Inc. highlighted several trends set to shape the automotive sector in 2025, as the industry faces regulatory pressure on emissions and intense growth from China.
“Software and electrification will remain the two main drivers of the automotive sector’s transformation. However, in 2025, automakers will face uncertainties regarding emission regulations and growing trade tensions between China and the West, particularly in the electric vehicle (EV) market,” said Pedro Pacheco, VP Analyst at Gartner.
The evolving political landscape in the U.S. and European Union (EU) is reopening the discussion on vehicle emission regulations, creating uncertainty for the automotive industry. As a result, some original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) may be reluctant to put EVs at the center of their strategy.
Gartner estimates EV (bus, car, van and heavy trucks) shipments will grow 17% in 2025. By 2030, Gartner predicts that more than 50% of all vehicle models marketed by automakers will be EVs.
Geopolitics Slows CASE Adoption
Trade barriers set by the U.S. and the EU against Chinese EVs will slow the adoption of connectivity, autonomy, software and electrification (CASE) in these regions, as Chinese EVs are, on average, the most advanced type of vehicles in these areas.
“Drone manufacturers and Chinese telecommunication companies are already feeling the impact of international sanctions, and robots are likely to follow,” said Bill Ray, Distinguished VP at Gartner. “The ubiquity of intelligent, updatable software, remotely accessible cameras and the integration of data gathering into the automotive business model make it inevitable that geopolitics will fragment the market and, therefore, slow adoption.”
Chinese automakers have a competitive edge in software and electrification, supported by vertical integration and efficient development, enabling them to offer advanced, affordable EVs. However, increasing trade barriers may diminish this advantage, limiting the variety of competitive EV products for consumers.
OEMs Expand Software Partnerships with Chinese OEMs
Legacy OEMs have struggled to advance their in-house software capabilities. As a result, many have made agreements with Chinese OEMs to acquire their vehicle electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture, thereby increasing their reliance on the software and hardware capabilities of Chinese EV makers.
Overcapacity Prompts OEM Plant Closures
For years, production overcapacity has been a challenge for several European and North American car factories. The recent increase in import tariffs on Chinese EVs imposed by the U.S. and the EU is likely to exacerbate this issue. In response, Chinese automakers may set up factories in Europe and the U.S. or in free-trade partners like Morocco or Turkey to maintain competitive pricing.
Gartner expects this situation to most likely lead to several automotive factories with low utilization to close or be sold to other automakers. This will also create a domino effect, leading to the closure of supplier factories. This will redefine the car manufacturing map of the U.S. and Europe, making low-cost countries the major hubs in automotive production capacity and supply chain.
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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
09/26/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007Though the news cycle felt a little less exclamatory this week, there were many global business news headlines worth revisiting. Among them, China announced a bold carbon emissions goal of 10% over the next decade to double its solar and wind power capacity. The Wall Street Journal published an article, “Global Port Leaders See Trade Shifting, Not Slowing,” a nod to businesses’ risk mitigation strategies and execution around overreliance on China coming into play in a bigger way.
Inside Thailand’s Rising PCB Hub: Touring a Chinese Fab
09/23/2025 | Edy Yu, Editor-in-Chief, ECIOFrom industry giants to emerging forces, many electronics companies are painting a grand blueprint for the future, laying out their plans in the investment hotbed of Thailand. This was evident during THECA in Thailand, where the most frequently heard buzzwords on and off the show floor were "going global," "building factories in Thailand," and "supply chain security.” With these insights, and full of expectations and questions collected at the exhibition, my team visited First Quality Circuit Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Sihui Fuji, located in the Amata Industrial Park in Rayong, Thailand
Global Citizenship: Together for a Perfect PCB Solution
09/10/2025 | Tom Yang -- Column: Global CitizenshipIf there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past few decades of electronics evolution, it’s that no region has a monopoly on excellence. Whether it’s materials science breakthroughs in Europe, manufacturing efficiencies in China, or design innovations in Silicon Valley, the PCB industry thrives on collaboration.
Materials and Manufacturing for the AI Era: The Next PCB Frontier
08/08/2025 | Edy Yu, Chief Editor, ECIO, and the I-Connect007 Editorial TeamAI is pushing hardware to its limits, and the bottleneck isn’t design anymore—it’s materials. Next-generation AI servers aren’t just heavier on layer counts. They demand better materials to handle the speed, heat, and signal integrity requirements of 400G, 800G, and even 1.6T Ethernet systems. Many server motherboards are already 32–36 layers. For the next wave of 1.6T-capable boards, expect 40–50 layers, which must maintain high-frequency performance without degrading signal quality.
Global Citizenship: Chinese PCB Fabricators Will Remain an Important Part of the Supply Chain
08/06/2025 | Tom Yang -- Column: Global CitizenshipIn today’s hyperconnected electronics landscape, collaboration is no longer optional; it’s essential. No single country holds a monopoly on innovation, and no one company or country can go it alone. Electronics manufacturing is very much a global business, and this will not change, no matter how the tariffs and global trade winds are blowing. Whether you're a startup founder building your prototype, an aerospace engineer pushing the boundaries of performance, or a supply chain leader managing a complex global network, Chinese PCB fabricators have likely already touched your world.