On Friday, November 7th, German automotive parts supplier Aumovio announced that Dutch semiconductor company Nexperia has resumed exporting chips from China following the easing of export restrictions threatening global car production by Beijing.
Aumovio’s CEO, Philipp von Hirschheydt, stated during the company’s third-quarter earnings conference that the chip exports from China by Nexperia have been reinstated.
He added that the company received verbal notification from Chinese officials the day before yesterday and obtained written export control exemption documents yesterday.
In October, Beijing halted the export of finished chips from Nexperia’s Chinese factory. Nexperia packages around 80% of its wafers in China before exporting or supplying them to Chinese companies.
This action was in response to the Dutch government’s intervention in this Netherlands-based company, as concerns arose over Nexperia’s Chinese owners potentially closing European factories and transferring business technology to China.
Nexperia’s chips are widely used in the automotive manufacturing sector. The export ban on Nexperia chips by China has put pressure on the global automotive supply chain, with some car manufacturers even forced to reduce production to cope with chip shortages.
US President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce in the trade war last week. According to the US’s released details of the US-China trade agreement, China agreed to take appropriate measures to ensure that Nexperia’s Chinese factory resumes exports, allowing critical traditional chips to be supplied to other regions worldwide.
Executives from Volkswagen, Honda, and Ford had previously warned that the supply chain would face severe disruptions and called for a joint solution by Europe, China, and the US to address this issue.
Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Vincent Karremans stated on Thursday, the 6th, that Nexperia chips bound for Europe and other parts of the world from China should arrive in customers hands “within the next few days.”
Karremans mentioned in a statement, “The Netherlands will closely monitor and support these developments, taking appropriate measures when necessary.”
Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing sources, that the Dutch minister is preparing to revoke the Nexperia takeover order he issued on September 30, with an announcement expected as early as next week. However, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has not confirmed this information.
Despite the resumption of Nexperia’s Chinese chip exports, Aumovio stated that factors contributing to chip shortages still exist. The company’s CEO remarked, “There will certainly be further challenges in the future because in today’s highly globalized automotive industry, a supply chain disruption exceeding four weeks can have a significant impact on operational efficiency.”
Western companies still have concerns about procurement processes being obstructed. China requires foreign companies purchasing rare earths (used in chip production) to provide information regarding their usage, customers, and production processes.