BEIJING, March 9 (Reuters) – Chipmaker Nexperia’s Chinese subsidiary said on Monday it has begun producing its own chips, a further step towards independence from its Dutch parent as a dispute that has disrupted automakers’ supply lines continues.
In a statement on its Chinese social media account, Nexperia China said it has started making several types of chips also produced by Nexperia, but using 12-inch wafers – a size the Dutch company cannot manufacture in Europe.
Nexperia has been in a standoff with both its owner Wingtech and the Nexperia China subsidiary since October 2025, after an intervention by the Dutch government aimed at blocking the company from shifting operations to China.
Nexperia’s European headquarters declined comment.
Before the intervention, Nexperia produced wafers in Europe and packaged them into chips in China. Afterwards, the company fractured, with Nexperia China declaring independence and Nexperia Europe halting wafer shipments to China, citing nonpayment.
In its statement, Nexperia China said it has begun using 12-inch wafers to make products including bipolar discrete devices, Schottky rectifiers and electrostatic discharge devices – all simple chips that Nexperia also makes.
The company could not immediately be reached to clarify where it is sourcing its 12-inch wafers. Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng controls Shanghai Dingtai Jiangxin Technology Co., Ltd, or “WingSkySemi”, a 12-inch wafer fab in Shanghai that cooperated with Nexperia before the dispute began.
(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen, Ryan Woo and Toby Sterling. Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)
