US and European automotive supply chains are at risk of chip shortages due to tensions with China-owned chipmaker Nexperia, warn industry lobby groups.
The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (Mema), the largest vehicle supplier association in the US, has said that the car industry’s supply of crucial chips from Nexperia could run dry amid ongoing geopolitical tension between China and the Netherlands.
Mema predicts that US auto plants are two to four weeks away from “significant impacts” on vehicle production if no solution is found quickly.
Founded in 2017, Nexperia, once part of Dutch electronics group Philips, is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, but it is 100%-owned by China’s Wingtech Technology.
Nexperia produces legacy or older generation logic chips crucial for basic automotive functions, such as airbags, windshield wipers and window controls, in most lines of vehicle. A single vehicle could contain up to 500 of the company’s chips, with an electric vehicle...