Global automakers are facing renewed supply chain disruptions after the Netherlands’ late-September seizure of Chinese-owned semiconductor firm Nexperia triggered a wave of retaliatory measures from Beijing, including an export ban on the company’s products. The escalating dispute has rippled through the auto industry, exposing once again the fragility of global chip supply networks.
Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. became the latest casualty of the fallout, announcing production cuts at its Kyushu plant starting Nov. 10 due to shortages of chips supplied by Nexperia. According to a person familiar with the matter, Nissan will reduce output of its popular Rogue SUV by about 900 vehicles next week. The automaker is also reviewing production plans for the following week as the disruption continues to affect supplies of key components.
In a statement to Reuters, Nissan said it would implement “small-scale production adjustments” during the week of Nov. 10 at both the Kyushu and Oppama plants, affecting several hundred vehicles in total. The Oppama facility, located south of Tokyo, manufactures the Note compact model.
The crisis has alarmed European governments and auto manufacturers, particularly Germany, where automakers like Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz rely heavily on Nexperia’s chips. Berlin confirmed that it is engaging Beijing “through all available channels” to protect German firms affected by the disruption.
“We take the situation of the affected companies very seriously,” a spokesperson for Germany’s economy ministry said Wednesday. “We are discussing the matter with the companies as well as with Dutch and European partners through various channels.”
Nexperia, headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, produces billions of low-end but indispensable chips used in automotive systems ranging from braking mechanisms and electric windows to infotainment units and lighting systems. The company was seized by the Dutch government on Sept. 30 under the Goods Availability Act—a rarely used law that allows state intervention in industries deemed critical to national security.
Dutch authorities justified the move by citing concerns that Nexperia’s governance and potential technology transfers to its Chinese parent company, Wingtech, could threaten “the continuity and safeguarding of crucial technological knowledge and capabilities” within the Netherlands and the wider European Union. Following the seizure, the government replaced Nexperia’s Chinese CEO Zhang Xuezheng with interim chief Stefan Tilger.
Beijing denounced the move as “discriminatory” and retaliated by halting exports of Nexperia products, a significant blow given that about 70% of the company’s chips are packaged in China before being distributed globally. The Chinese government said on Saturday it might consider export exemptions on a case-by-case basis but issued a stern warning to The Hague on Tuesday, urging it to “stop interfering” in the company’s internal affairs.
“The Dutch side persists in its unilateral course without taking concrete actions to resolve the issue, which will inevitably deepen the adverse impact on the global semiconductor supply chain,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
A spokesperson for the Dutch economic affairs ministry confirmed that negotiations with China are ongoing. European automakers and suppliers, meanwhile, are scrambling to secure exemptions from China’s export ban or find alternative sources for Nexperia chips—moves that could take months and incur additional costs.
The supply shock has reignited fears within Europe’s car industry about overdependence on foreign—particularly Chinese—technology suppliers. Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa told Reuters that the crisis exposes the continent’s structural vulnerabilities.
“Today our system means we have zero autonomy as an industry,” Filosa said at a sector conference in Paris. “Look at the Nexperia chip crisis. Look at the April rare earth crisis that we went through very painfully.”
Nexperia itself has cautioned customers that it cannot guarantee the quality of products still being shipped from its Chinese facilities, though it stressed that restoring normal supply remains its “top priority.” The company said it is “actively engaging with all stakeholders to de-escalate the situation as soon as possible.”
Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius struck a cautiously optimistic tone, suggesting there were signs of progress in talks among China, Europe, and the United States. “We have sufficient chip supply for now,” Källenius said in Paris, “but we are watching very carefully to see what the American-Chinese agreement leads to.”
The latest crisis underscores the global auto industry’s lingering vulnerability to geopolitical shocks affecting semiconductor supply chains. Despite lessons learned from the 2020–2022 chip shortage, automakers continue to rely heavily on specialized suppliers concentrated in Europe and East Asia.
As tensions between China and Western nations deepen over technology security, analysts warn that such disruptions could become more frequent—forcing automakers to rethink their sourcing strategies and invest in local semiconductor capacity. For now, the industry faces yet another reminder that even the smallest chips can bring global production lines to a halt.
