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Shipments of Nexperia chips from China have resumed, according to German car parts supplier Aumovio, after Beijing eased an export ban that had threatened car production across the world.
“We are exporting [chips] already out of China again,” Philipp von Hirschheydt, chief executive of Aumovio, said on Friday at the company’s third-quarter results. The company had received an exemption from export controls, he added.
Beijing last month blocked exports of finished Nexperia chips, 80 per cent of which are processed in China. It was retaliating after the Dutch government took control of the Netherlands-based group, citing governance concerns over its Chinese owner. Nexperia chips are widely used in carmaking.
But after US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping agreed to a one-year truce in their trade war, the Chinese government signalled over the weekend that it would open discussions with affected companies.
Senior executives from Volkswagen, Honda and Ford had warned of significant disruption to supply chains and called on governments in Europe, China and the US to resolve the problem.
Dutch economy minister Vincent Karremans said on Thursday that his country “welcomes the announcement that China will enable the resumption of supplies from Nexperia’s facilities in China”.
“Given the constructive nature of our talks with the Chinese authorities, the Netherlands trusts that the supply of chips from China to Europe and the rest of the world will reach Nexperia’s customers over the coming days,” he added.
The crisis was triggered by the Dutch government seizing control of Nexperia, which is based in the Netherlands but owned by China’s Wingtech. It also forced out the group’s Chinese chief executive, arguing his actions were a threat to chip supply in Europe.
Wingtech, which remains the beneficial owner of the business, has contested that.
Despite the resumption of exports, von Hirschheydt said there would still be fallout. “There is going to be disruption down the line, because stopping for more than four weeks in a supply chain in our globalised automotive world is a significant hit towards operational efficiency,” he said.
Companies also still have worries about the procurement process. Beijing has demanded that companies buying rare earths, which are used in chips, provide information about their use, customers and production processes.
Additional reporting by Kana Inagaki
