European carmakers brace for a chip shortage triggered by Nexperia
Europe’s car industry is bracing for another round of trouble, this time a fresh shortage of microchips that could halt production within weeks. One name keeps echoing through crisis rooms across the continent. Nexperia. Unless someone conjures up a workable plan before the calendar turns another page, assembly lines will grind to a halt.
Sources quoted by the Financial Times describe the situation in blunt terms. Carmakers are rationing their remaining components the way a wartime administration might hand out coupons. Nexperia’s Dutch operation has stopped sending the silicon wafers its own plant in China needs. That single break collapsed a supply chain modern vehicles lean on far more heavily than most drivers realise.
Nexperia is owned by the Chinese group Wingtech Technologies. The company landed on a United States sanctions list last year, and Nexperia joined it in the autumn. The Dutch government responded by taking control of the factories on its soil. Wingtech answered with export restrictions. The end result is a bottleneck that hits every European production line.
The long route from wafer to wiring loom
Nexperia chips pass through several European facilities before they travel to a Chinese assembly plant. Only after the final work there are the components shipped back and fitted into cars. They run everyday systems, lights, airbags, locks, window lifts. Small parts that can immobilise an entire vehicle when they vanish from the shelves.
A senior automotive executive told the Financial Times that the shortage is tearing through hundreds of sectors and that existing stock will last only a few weeks. Teams are hunting for alternatives around the clock.
Global ripples and local pain
Honda has already cut output in Mexico because the shortage turned into a daily obstacle rather than an occasional annoyance. The Mexican plant built one hundred ninety thousand vehicles in 2024 and one hundred fifty thousand went to the United States. Volumes like that cannot survive a prolonged pause.
A reality check for Europe
The chaos around Nexperia comes at a moment when Europe is trying to lessen its dependence on Asian chip production. This crisis shows with disarming clarity how fragile the system remains. Europe talks about expanding its semiconductor industry, yet progress on the ground struggles to match the ambition. Competitors in Korea and Taiwan continue at their own pace and every break in the supply chain pushes Europe a step behind.
It leaves the impression that real luxury no longer sits in leather seats or polished chrome. It rests in a sliver of silicon that decides whether a car moves at all.
