The Dutch chipmaker issued an urgent plea to its China unit

Dutch chipmaker Nexeria has publicly called on its China unit to help restore supply chain operations, a warning open letter Consumers across industries are reporting “imminent production outages.”

Nexeria’s Dutch unit said on Thursday that its open letter had “repeatedly tried to establish direct communication through traditional channels” but had received “no meaningful response”.

The letter A marks the latest turn A long-running saga is Global automotive supply chain at risk and stoked a A bitter battle Between Amsterdam and Beijing on technology transfer.

“We welcome the Chinese authorities’ commitment to resume exports from Nexperia’s Chinese facility and from our subcontractors, which will continue the flow of our products to the global market,” Nexperia’s Dutch unit said in the letter.

“However, consumers across industries are still complaining of production stoppages. This situation cannot continue,” he added. The group called on the leadership of Nexeria’s institutions in China to take steps to restore established supply flows without delay.

In a statement, Nexeria’s Chinese parent Wingtech Technology said on Friday that the Dutch unit’s open letter contained “largely misleading and untrue allegations.”

It said that “Wingtech’s control and illegal deprivation of shareholders’ rights over Nexeria” is the root cause of the current supply chain turmoil.

“With the recent series of actions by the Dutch government and Nexeria BV, we believe their real intention is to buy time for Nexeria BV to create a ‘de-China-ized’ supply chain and permanently strip Wingtech of its shareholder rights,” Wingtech said.

Nexeria produces billions of so-called foundation chips — transistors, diodes and power management components — that are manufactured in Europe, assembled and tested in China, and then re-exported to customers in Europe and elsewhere.

Chips are relatively low-tech and cheap but are essential for almost every device that uses electricity. In cars, those chips are used to connect batteries to motors, lights and sensors, braking systems, airbag controllers, entertainment systems and electric windows.

In an apparent reprieve last week, however, the Dutch government said After discussions with the Chinese authorities, the state’s intervention in Nexperia was suspended. It was thought at the time that this could end the dispute and pave the way for the restoration of a normal supply chain.

Rico Luman, senior economist for transport and logistics at Dutch bank ING, said it was not yet clear how long the situation would last.

“The measures imposed to seize the Dutch Nexeria subsidiary have been lifted, but discussions are still ongoing about restoring the corporate structure and relationship with parent company Wingtech,” Luman told CNBC via email.

“It’s not just about the supply of finished chips, it’s also about the supply of wafers from Europe to the Chinese company,” Luman said, including companies from Japan. Nissan and German auto suppliers Bosch are among companies warning of increased shortages.

A spokesperson for the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), which represents Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz Group And BMW Among hundreds of others, it warned of increased supply risks, “especially for the first quarter of 2026”.

“In recent weeks, the German automotive industry has largely been able to stabilize production through intensive efforts,” a VDA spokesperson told CNBC via email.

“However, disruptions in the supply chain of Nexeria parts have not been fundamentally resolved due to political interference. Availability of components remains uncertain,” he added.

ING’s Luman said Nexeria’s situation is somewhat comparable to China’s rare earth export controls.

“The Chinese position looks strong again because European manufacturers are dependent on supply. And compared to rare earths, it’s not entirely transparent which buyer is eligible for which chip supply,” Lumann said.

— CNBC’s Annika Kim Constantino contributed to this report.