Dutch chipmaker Nexperia has warned that product deliveries from China remain uncertain despite commitments made by Beijing over the weekend.
China recently imposed an export ban on Nexperia, preventing a major factory in the country’s south from exporting key semiconductor products for the automotive industry.
Although China promised exceptions to this ban last weekend, Nexperia stated that its Chinese divisions are acting independently and the company cannot guarantee the delivery or quality of components from its Chinese factory.
Since late October, Nexperia has stopped supplying wafers, the discs used to manufacture chips, to its large Chinese factory. The company claims that Nexperia China has refused to pay for these supplies from Hamburg.
Moreover, the Chinese subsidiary is allegedly misleading customers, suppliers, and employees and has opened “unauthorised accounts” for customer payments.
The export ban by China follows measures taken by the Dutch government, which placed Nexperia under supervision due to fears that its Chinese parent company, Wingtech, might divert activities and technological expertise away from Europe. In parallel, a Dutch court removed Wingtech CEO Zhang Xuezheng as an executive and shareholder of Nexperia, citing mismanagement.
Nexperia is a key supplier to several car manufacturers, including Volvo’s factory in Ghent, Belgium. Late last month, Volvo Cars stated that its Ghent operations had sufficient stock for “the coming weeks”.
