The tug-of-war between the Netherlands and China is now spilling over into Japan.
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(Image credit: Getty Images ) Share Share by: Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Flipboard Share this article Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Honda has announced that it will suspend production at several sites in Japan on January 5 and 6, with reduced operations until January 9. While it’s unclear which factories will be affected, some estimates suggest that it will affect the company’s Suzuka and Saitama plants, which primarily produce vehicles for the domestic market. Aside from this, it will close three factories in China from December 29 through January 2. According to Digitimes , the Japanese car manufacturer had to reduce or halt its operations because of the lack of supply of legacy chips, which it sourced from Nexperia.
While Nexperia does not produce cutting-edge semiconductors like TSMC and Samsung, it’s still one of the largest legacy chip manufacturers in the world. Although these may be cheap parts, they’re still essential components found in every vehicle where they’re used in major systems like power steering and automatic windows. The trouble began in mid-October when the Dutch government seized it from Wingtech , its Chinese owner, following concerns of illegal technology transfers from the Netherlands unit to its China-based parent company.
This move led to an ongoing spat, which involved Beijing, as it blocked the export of certain Nexperia products , negatively impacting the global automotive supply chain. It was also revealed that Washington may have had a hand in the takeover , especially as Wingtech was put on its entity list since 2024. As the weeks rolled by, the Japanese automotive industry said that the conflict could lead to disruption , especially as it can take time before they can either receive components from Nexperia again or find new chip sources. Volkswagen and BMW have reportedly eased production in late October, as car companies are still ringing alarm bells on an automotive chip shortage in mid-November.
Nexperia fallout threatens automobile production as Japanese carmakers warn of supply disruptions while European companies prep assembly line shut-downs
Nexperia conflict spills overseas as it halts exports to China
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/semiconductors/honda-to-temporarily-shut-down-factories-in-china-and-japan-because-of-chip-shortage-disruption-caused-by-fallout-from-on-going-conflict-within-nexperia#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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