VW to Launch 11 New Models in China to Claw Back Market Share
Volkswagen AG and its long-standing partner FAW Group will launch 11 new models exclusively for the Chinese market as it seeks to shore up declining market share in the world's biggest auto market.
The line up includes six electric vehicles, two plug-in hybrids and two range-extended EVs under the Volkswagen brand, which will be introduced to China starting in 2026, the company said in a statement on Monday that details a new strategic agreement between the carmakers. The first electric model of the Jetta brand will be released next year to tap into rising demand for EVs, with a focus on the entry-level market, it said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
House bipartisan bill directs NSA to create 'AI security playbook' amid Chinese tech race
FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., is introducing a new bill Thursday imploring the National Security Administration (NSA) to develop an "AI security playbook" to stay ahead of threats from China and other foreign adversaries. The bill, dubbed the "Advanced AI Security Readiness Act," directs the NSA's Artificial Intelligence Security Center to develop an "AI Security Playbook to address vulnerabilities, threat detection, cyber and physical security strategies, and contingency plans for highly sensitive AI systems." It is co-sponsored by House Select Committee on China Chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., Ranking Member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. LaHood, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee and the House Select Committee on China, told Fox News Digital that the legislative proposal, if passed, would be the first time Congress codifies a "multi-prong approach to ensure that the U.S. remains ahead in the advanced technology race against the CCP." The new bill follows another bipartisan legislative proposal, the "Chip Security Act," which he introduced in late May. That proposal aims to improve export control mechanisms – including for chips and high-capacity chip manufacturing – protect covered AI technologies with a focus on cybersecurity, and limit outbound investment to firms directly tied to the Chinese Community Party or China's People's Liberation Army. Chinese Bioweapon Smuggling Case Shows Us 'Trains Our Enemies,' 'Learned Nothing' From Covid: Security Expert "We start with the premise that China has a plan to replace the United States. And I don't say that to scare people or my constituents, but they have a plan to replace the United States, and they're working on it every single day. And that entails stealing data and infiltrating our systems," LaHood told Fox News Digital. "AI is the next frontier on that. We lead the world in technology. We lead the world when it comes to AI. But what this bill will do will again make sure that things are done the right way and the correct way, and that we're protecting our assets and promoting the current technology that we have in our country." Read On The Fox News App LaHood pointed to evidence uncovered by the committee that he said shows the CCP's DeepSeek used illegal distillation techniques to steal insights from U.S. AI models to accelerate their own technology development. He also pointed to how China allegedly smuggled AI chips through Singapore intermediaries to circumvent U.S. export controls on the technology. "As we look at, 'How do we win the strategic competition?' I think most experts would say we're ahead in AI right now against China, but not by much. It is a short lead," LaHood told Fox News Digital. He said he is confident his legislative proposals will put the U.S. "in the best position to protect our assets here and make sure that we're not shipping things that shouldn't go to AI that allow them to win the AI race in China." "Whoever wins this race in the future, it's going to be critical to future warfare capabilities, to, obviously, cybersecurity," LaHood continued. "And then, whoever wins the AI competition is going to yield really unwavering economic influence in the future. And so we're aggressive in this bill in terms of targeting those areas where we need to protect our AI and our companies here in the United States, both on the commercial side and on the government side, to put us in the best position possible." The "Advanced AI Security Readiness Act" calls on the NSA to develop a playbook that identifies vulnerabilities in AI data centers and developers producing sensitive AI technologies with an emphasis on unique "threat vectors" that do not typically arise, or are less severe, in the context of conventional information technology systems." The bill says the NSA must develop "core insights" in how advanced AI systems are being trained to identify potential interferences and must develop strategies to "detect, prevent and respond to cyber threats by threat actors targeting covered AI technologies." Amazon Announces $20B Investment In Rural Pennsylvania For Ai Data Centers The bill calls on the NSA to "identify levels of security, if any, that would require substantial involvement" by the U.S. government "in the development or oversight of highly advanced AI systems." It cites a "hypothetical initiative to build covered AI technology systems in a highly secure government environment" with certain protocols in place, such as personnel vetting and security clearance processes, to mitigate "insider threats." Though not directly related, the new bill is being introduced a week after FBI Director Kash Patel sounded the alarm on how the CCP continues to deploy operatives and researchers to "infiltrate" U.S. institutions. Patel laid out the risk in announcing that two Chinese nationals were charged with smuggling a potential bioweapon into the U.S. LaHood said that case further highlights "the level of penetration and sophistication that the CCP will engage in," but he added that his bill focuses on putting a "protective layer" on U.S. AI tech and "restricting outbound investment to China." He pointed to how the CCP also has bought up farmland around strategic U.S. national security locations, particularly in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. "If everything was an even playing field, and we were all abiding by the same rules and standards and ethical guidelines, I have no doubt the U.S. would win [the AI race], but China has a tendency and a history of playing by a different set of rules and standards," LaHood said. "They cheat, they steal, they take our intellectual property. Not just my opinion, that's been factually laid out, you know, in many different instances. And that's the reason why we need to have a bill like this." The bill comes as the Trump administration has been pushing to bolster artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, and major tech companies, including Amazon, Nvidia, Meta, OpenAI, Oracle and others, have made major investments in constructing AI-focused data centers and enhancing U.S. cloud computing. Last week, Amazon announced a $20 billion investment in constructing AI data centers in rural Pennsylvania. It followed a similar $10 billion investment in North Carolina. In late May, the NSA's Artificial Intelligence Security Center released "joint guidance" on the "risks and best practices in AI data security." The recommendations include implementing methods to secure the data used in AI-based systems, "such as employing digital signatures to authenticate trusted revisions, tracking data provenance, and leveraging trusted infrastructure." The center said its guidance is "critically relevant for organizations – especially system owners and administrators within the Department of Defense, National Security Systems, and the Defense Industrial Base – that already use AI systems in their day-to-day operations and those that are seeking to integrate AI into their infrastructure."Original article source: House bipartisan bill directs NSA to create 'AI security playbook' amid Chinese tech race
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Taiwan's chip dominance becomes global security, economic flashpoint
WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- Taiwan may be an island of just over 23 million people, but what happens there could ripple across the global economy. The small democratic nation produces the vast majority of the world's most advanced semiconductors -- chips that are used in everything from smartphones and electric cars to defense systems and spacecraft. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. "produces roughly 90% of the most sophisticated computer chips, and the loss of that would be devastating," said Steven David, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. "We can't get around without it." For Taiwan, this manufacturing dominance isn't just economic -- it's strategic. Analysts call it the island's "silicon shield." The world relies heavily on Taiwan's chips, which deters China from launching a military attack and pushes allies like the United States to come to Taiwan's defense. The geopolitical stakes around Taiwan's semiconductor dominance have soared as China escalates military pressure, through increased fighter jet incursions, large-scale naval drills and explicit threats of reunification. U.S. lawmakers from both parties have increasingly voiced concern that a Chinese invasion could upend global chip supply chains and empower Beijing with outsized economic leverage. "It [would be] monumentally stupid to try to keep something as fragile as chips production going during the time of war," said Kitsch Liao, associate director of the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub. "One stray shell could destroy that plant and you're done." The United States has taken steps to address this vulnerability. In 2022, former President Joe Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act, allocating $280 billion to support domestic semiconductor manufacturing and research, including subsidies for Taiwan Semiconductor to build a plant in Phoenix. In March, President Donald Trump announced a new $100 billion deal with the company to dramatically expand its manufacturing presence in the United States. "America is building plants with Taiwanese investment and cooperation in Arizona and elsewhere, but it would still be devastating," David said, referring to the potential impact of a Chinese attack on chip production. Taiwan's government has had to carefully balance cooperation with the United States against growing fears at home that shifting too much chip production abroad could weaken its security. Taiwan's two main political parties, the Kuomintang, or KMT, and the Democratic Progressive Party, or DPP, have debated the best approach to cross-strait relations. While the KMT supports closer ties with China, the DPP, which currently holds the presidency under Lai Ching-te, has leaned toward reinforcing Taiwan's democratic independence and diversifying trade, actions that could increase already mounting pressure from China. "If China does successfully invade Taiwan and takes over the TSMC plant, it won't be able to use the plant the way Taiwan does," David said. "But it would deny its use to others, and that would be devastating to the world economy. Several percentages of world GDP would drop as a result." Analysts worry that even the threat of invasion could destabilize markets. Blockades or gray zone tactics by Beijing, short of all-out war, could still limit Taiwan Semiconductors' ability to export. "Any erosion in Taiwan's ability to trade with the rest of the world would have a significant impact on the global economy," said Jack Burnham, a research analyst at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "It would disrupt the flow of semiconductors to a variety of different industries that are incredibly valuable to the United States, its allies and partners, and the global community." Taiwan has long been one of the most contentious issues in United States-China relations. After the Chinese Civil War, the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan in 1949, and the Chinese Communist Party established the People's Republic of China on the mainland. Since then, Beijing has claimed Taiwan as an inalienable part of its territory. In 1979, the United States. ended formal diplomatic recognition of Taipei in favor of Beijing, but passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which commits the United States to help Taiwan maintain a "sufficient self-defense capability." The United States, though, has remained deliberately vague about whether it would come to Taiwan's defense in the event of a Chinese invasion -- a policy known as strategic ambiguity. But as threats of an invasion increased, this stance continued to be tested. In a speech in Singapore last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed that "devastating consequences" could result should China seek to "conquer" Taiwan, warning that an invasion could be "imminent." Beyond semiconductor and chips manufacturing, Taiwan remains a core interest in the Indo-Pacific region. The island sits at the heart of the "first island chain," a line of U.S.-aligned territories stretching from Japan to the Philippines. If China were to take over Taiwan, experts warned it could use the island as a launchpad to project power deep into the Pacific, posing a direct challenge to U.S. interests. "Should China be successful [in a reunification scenario], it would have a significant impact on the lives of everyday Americans -- both in their wallets and in the political situation they find themselves in," Burnham said. "What's at stake when it comes to Taiwan is the free flow of trade, a significant part of the American economy, and the health and stability of the United States' key allies and partners in the region."
Yahoo
9 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Swinney 'deeply concerned' over bus firm job cuts
The first minister has said the Scottish government will do "everything it can" to support workers at bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis. John Swinney said he was "deeply concerned" the firm was planning to move its full operation to a site in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, putting 400 jobs at factories in Falkirk and Larbert at risk. However, he faced criticism from Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who claimed his government had ordered more buses from China than it had from the firm. Swinney said most bus ordering decisions in Scotland were made by private operators, and the government had to comply with state subsidy rules in the way it supported businesses. At First Minister's Questions Swinney said: "This issue has been occupying a great deal of the focus and the attention of the deputy first minister and I and the UK government ministers since we became aware of the situation over the last few weeks, and then ultimately to the decision that was announced yesterday." He quoted a joint letter from the UK and Scottish governments, which pledged to "work closely with Alexander Dennis at this challenging time". Up to 400 jobs at risk at Scottish bus maker Alexander Dennis Bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis warns of 160 jobs at risk Alexander Dennis (ADL) cited strong competition from the China, which has seen its market share grow from 10% to 35%, among its reasons for the move. The firm also criticised UK policy, and called for jobs and local economic benefit to be factored in when taxpayers money is invested. Earlier Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham pointed to an order of 160 ADL buses for the publicly-owned "Bee Network" in the city, and questioned why the Scottish government could not do the same. In a statement, Burnham - who has previously visited the Falkirk site - said: "Our iconic Bee Network buses are a bit of Scotland right here in Greater Manchester. "We have over 160 Alexander Dennis buses criss-crossing our city-region every day - connecting our communities to opportunity. "If Greater Manchester can invest in world-class Scottish bus manufacturing, then why can't the SNP Scottish government?" Sarwar claimed the Scottish government had secured just 44 buses from ADL as part of the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB) scheme last year. The fund was initially established in 2022 to "disrupt the bus and coach market" and allow operators the chance to make the move to zero-emission vehicles. Sarwar said that number was "five times" less than the number of buses ordered by Greater Manchester. However, that figure only covered the second phase of the rollout. The first phase, in which 276 buses were procured at a cost of about £62m, saw 137 buses ordered from ADL. An additional 116 buses were ordered from Chinese manufacturer Yutong, while the rest were built in the UK, Ireland and Europe. ScotZEBs predecessor, known as the Scottish Ultra-Low Emission Bus Scheme, also saw 207 electric buses ordered from ADL by operators between September 2020 and March 2021. Swinney said state aid regulations - in the form of the UK-wide Subsidy Control Act - prevented the government from directly procuring from a single supplier. In Scotland, most public service buses are procured by private operators, who then run them on routes across the country. Swinney said: "What I am doing, what the deputy first minister is doing, is how can we find a way in which we can remain legally compliant with the Subsidy Control Act and enable these obstacles to be overcome? "We are going to do everything we can to find a way through the Subsidy Control Act provision, so the government can continue to work within the law, and so we can support manufacturing in Scotland."
