Nexperia‑Wingtech Standoff Intensifies Amid Escalating Public Confrontation

Dutch semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia has publicly called on its China-based operations to take immediate steps to resume normal supply‑chain activity, citing an open letter that warns customers across several industries of “imminent production outages.”

Nexperia’s Netherlands division said the letter followed multiple unsuccessful attempts to communicate through standard channels, which it described as yielding “no meaningful response.” The move is the latest episode in a prolonged dispute that has disrupted global automotive supply chains and heightened tensions between Amsterdam and Beijing over technology transfer issues.

In the letter, Nexperia’s Dutch arm welcomed commitments from Chinese authorities to facilitate the resumption of exports from the company’s Chinese plant and its subcontractors, enabling continued shipments to international markets. The statement added that, despite those assurances, customers are still reporting imminent production stoppages and urged the leadership of Nexperia’s Chinese entities to act quickly to restore established supply flows.

Wingtech Technology, Nexperia’s Chinese parent, responded on Friday, characterizing the Dutch unit’s open letter as containing “a large number of misleading and untrue allegations.” Wingtech said the root cause of the disruption is the “unlawful deprivation of Wingtech’s control and shareholder rights over Nexperia,” and accused recent actions by the Dutch government and Nexperia B.V. of seeking to create a “de‑China‑ized” supply chain that would permanently remove Wingtech’s shareholder rights.

Nexperia manufactures vast quantities of foundational semiconductor components—transistors, diodes and power management chips—that are produced in Europe, assembled and tested in China, and then re‑exported to customers in Europe and elsewhere. While these components are relatively low‑cost and low‑complexity, they are integral to virtually all electrically powered devices. In the automotive sector, they are used for battery-to-motor connections, lighting and sensor systems, braking and airbag controllers, infotainment, and electric window mechanisms.

The dispute traces back to September, when the Dutch government invoked a Cold War‑era law to assume effective control of Nexperia, a rare intervention reportedly prompted by security concerns raised by the United States. Beijing reacted by restricting exports from the Chinese operations, raising alarms among global automakers about potential component shortages.

Last week the Dutch government said it had suspended its state intervention at Nexperia after talks with Chinese authorities, a development viewed as a possible step toward resolving the standoff and normalizing supply chains. However, the timeline for a full recovery remains unclear.

Rico Luman, senior sector economist for transport and logistics at ING, said the measures to seize the Dutch subsidiary have been lifted but that negotiations continue over restoring the corporate structure and the relationship with parent company Wingtech. He noted that the issue extends beyond finished chips to include wafer shipments from Europe to the Chinese facility, and cited warnings from companies such as Nissan and Bosch about potential shortages.

A spokesperson for the German Association of the Automotive Industry emphasized that supply risks remain elevated, particularly for the first quarter of 2026, and said the German auto sector has so far maintained production through intensive mitigation efforts. The spokesperson added that the political intervention has not fundamentally resolved disruptions to the Nexperia parts supply chain and that component availability remains uncertain.

ING’s Luman compared the situation to China’s controls on rare earth exports, observing that European manufacturers remain dependent on these supplies and that transparency over which buyers qualify for allocations is limited.