Dispute with China
European car manufacturers could soon face production problems because the Chinese government has suspended the export of Nexperia chips until further notice.
According to industry organization ACEA, the situation is worsening daily and stocks of Nexperia chips are running out. This could mean that production lines may be shut down within a few days, says ACEA. China and the Netherlands are involved in a political conflict regarding Nexperia, which has its headquarters in Nijmegen. The Dutch government has placed the company under administration, whereupon Beijing stopped the chip export from Nexperia in China.
“We know that all parties in this dispute are working hard to find a diplomatic solution. At the same time, our members say that parts deliveries are already being stopped due to the shortage. This means that assembly lines could potentially come to a halt within a few days,” says ACEA Director-General Sigrid de Vries.
Nexperia chips are mainly used for electronic control systems for many processes in cars. There are also concerns in the United States and Japan that shortages of these chips could lead to production problems for car manufacturers. According to ACEA, there are alternative suppliers, but it will take many months to build up sufficient production capacity to compensate for the loss of Nexperia chips. Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday that it still has enough Nexperia chips in the short term to continue production.