Nexperia China has separated from its Dutch parent company by starting to manufacture its own chips

Nexperia’s Chinese subsidiary announced on Monday that it has started producing its own semiconductor chips, marking another step toward operating independently from its Dutch parent company amid an ongoing dispute that has affected supply chains for automakers.

In a statement posted on its Chinese social media account, Nexperia China said it has begun manufacturing several types of chips that are also produced by the parent company. However, the new production uses 12-inch wafers, a size that Nexperia currently cannot manufacture in Europe.

The conflict began in October 2025 after the Dutch Government intervened to prevent the company from shifting more of its operations to China. The move led to a standoff between Nexperia, its owner Wingtech Technology, and the Chinese subsidiary.

Before the dispute, Nexperia typically produced wafers in Europe and then sent them to China for packaging into finished chips. After the government intervention, the company’s operations split. Nexperia Europe stopped sending wafers to China, citing nonpayment, while the Chinese unit declared operational independence.

According to the statement, Nexperia China has started using 12-inch wafers to manufacture components such as bipolar discrete devices, Schottky rectifiers and electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection chips. These are relatively simple semiconductor components commonly used in automotive and electronics systems.

The company did not specify where it is sourcing the 12-inch wafers. However, industry observers note that Zhang Xuezheng, founder of Wingtech, controls WingSkySemi, a 12-inch wafer fabrication plant in Shanghai that had previously cooperated with Nexperia before the dispute began.

Representatives of Nexperia’s European headquarters were not immediately available for comment on the development.