Nexperia's China unit ready to make chips soon locally

Beijing [China], April 3: The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the centre of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company.
The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia's domestic arm, Nexperia China, to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers etched with tiny components to make chips from Nexperia factories in Europe to China.
"From a supply chain perspective, we have completed the shift from global to domestic production in China," a Nexperia China representative told potential clients at a company event in Beijing on Wednesday. The representative assured attendees that the domestically made chips would meet the same stringent quality standards as previous products.
"Because the Dutch side cut our wafer supply, we have to use domestically made wafers. In the future, all products will be full local production," a source close to the matter told AFP, who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak to media. Nexperia's China unit could achieve full localization for most of its chips in the second half of 2026, including ones widely used in car production, he said. Nexperia referred AFP to previous public statements including an open letter published in November, saying it "continues to seek a constructive collaboration with Nexperia's entities in China and has been requesting an open dialogue to find a path forward to restoring the regular supply of goods".
"Any attempts has made to engage in a constructive and meaningful dialogue with the management in China since then have been unsuccessful." The Nexperia saga kicked off in September 2025 when the Dutch government invoked a Cold War-era law to effectively seize control of Nexperia, which is based in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Once part of Dutch electronics giant Philips, it was acquired in 2018 by China's Wingtech. Nexperia's Dutch headquarters has since cut off access to its office systems for employees in China, causing "significant disruption" to operations, the Chinese unit said .
Source: Qatar Tribune