European Automakers Are Catching Collateral Damage From Washington and Beijing

by Michael Accardi

Published: October 16th, 2025

european automakers are catching collateral damage from washington and beijing

The Dutch government’s decision to seize control of chipmaker Nexperia has roiled Europe’s auto industry. On September 30, The Hague invoked the rarely used Goods Availability Act to take oversight of Nexperia, citing “serious governance shortcomings” and the risk of technology transfer to its Chinese owner, Wingtech.

Bloomberg reports Chinese authorities have retaliated with export restrictions on Nexperia’s Chinese outputs, effectively blocking certain finished chip and sub-assembly shipments integral to European automotive electronics supply chains. The company produces discrete semiconductors and simpler logic and MOSFET components.

The European Auto Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) is yelling that delays in chip delivery will effectively halt vehicle production—without the needed components, suppliers cannot complete modules for assembly, and without those modules, vehicles cannot be assembled.

BMW, Volkswagen, and Bosch confirmed the risks to Reuters, but confirmed production at their factories is still online, though supply is being closely monitored. Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis are also believed to be affected.

VW said Nexperia is not a direct supplier to any of the brands in the Volkswagen Group, but that some of the company's parts are used in vehicle components supplied by others. BMW is more exposed to the issue than VW—it confirmed that part of its supplier network is already under pressure due to the restrictions on Nexperia. Key components like semiconductors used in safety modules are from the company.

Nexperia is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, with front-end facilities in Hamburg and Greater Manchester. Its parent company, Wingtech, a Chinese firm, became subject to U.S. export-control rules when it was added to the entity list in December 2024.

According to CNN, Nexperia’s CEO, Zhang Xuezheng, was suspended following the Dutch intervention—a court order was issued to appoint a non-Chinese executive with a deciding vote on corporate governance. American officials reportedly told the Dutch government that Zhang needed to be replaced if the company was to be removed from the U.S. list of restricted companies.

[Images: BMW]

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Michael Accardi

An experienced automotive storyteller known for engaging and insightful content. Michael also brings a wealth of technical knowledge and experience having been part of the Ford GT program at Multimatic and built cars that raced in TCR, IMSA, and IndyCar.

More by Michael Accardi

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2 of 6 comments

The Ayatollah of Rock n Rolla on Oct 17, 2025

I'm pretty sure COVID taught us that we should be looking into divesting of anything Chinese. But apparently, just a few short years later, people have forgotten this lesson.

3 Reply
Louis Faiella on Oct 17, 2025

this is a great opportunity to start making the simpler cars we need

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Amwhalbi My 1972 Mercury Capri was my first stick shift car. God, I miss that thing. It was a blast to drive.
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Jam169859557 More regulation is needed for ALL vehicle lighting systems. [list=1][*]The lighting that is most blinding are the rapidly flashing red, blue and amber lights on emergency vehicles. The lights themselves are blinding, flashing so rapidly that it's impossible for even the sharpest eyes to adjust. What's worse, is the nature of the emergency requires a careful view of the area surrounding the emergency vehicle. There is something going on that needs to be seen. More flashing lights is not the solution.[/*][*]Brighter headlights need to be regulated. The tall riding vehicles do not need headlights positioned so high that they blind drivers in lower riding vehicles. And those heasdlights need to be aimed properly. When I first started driving my 2020 Subaru Outback, many drivers would flash their lights, hoping I would dim my lights. This stopped after I performed am easy adjustment that tilted the beam lower. Late model Subaru headlamps are designed with a sharp cutoff that project less glare above the hood line. When the headlights are properly aimed, other drivers are not blinded by the beam.[/*][*]Customized light assemblies make it more difficult to see the marker lights (tail lamps, turn signals and side marker lamps) that have been tinted. There are many municiple codes that prohibit this tinting, but these laws are seldom enforced.[/*][/list=1]Solutions: Tight controls on emergency vehicle lighting. In trying to make these vehicles more visible, a dangerous side effect is reducing the ability of drivers to see the surrounding perils.Headlight design regulations that reduce the height of the headlight assemblies. Just because a pickup truck has a hood that sits 4 feet abouve the pavement, it does not mean the headlights need to be so high. Owneres should maintain proper adjustments to their vehicle headlights.Establish and enforce regulation requiring a illumination standard be followed.
Stl170698708 as someone who hates big government, and their interference;but you can add me to the list of people that are blinded by the lights.unfortunately "the poop is out of the horse and no way is it going back in"They have had 5 years to make lights bigger, badder and brighter because in the vehicle work it is go big or go home!Trucks are the worst because so many people use them to express their dominance and that is big, big, big $$ both at the Original Purchase and in the Aftermarket world.If, we are so lucky to get some good government regulation on this it will also take some very good Court enforcement to get the aftermarket people with fines and lawsuits.Much like the EPA did with the Diesel Tuner Industry that felt emission regulations didn't apply to them.This is from someone that owns said pickup truck with the same bright headlights,but i only use the truck when I have too and always turn off the Fog lights when driving in traffic.
Art65765977 I saw a porsche 911 with the most amazing headlights from behind approaching the Sunshine skyway in Florida. The pattern was 108 degrees across sweeping the road like a broom. My brother and I were amazed. I don't know what it looked like from the front but i am sure it was better than American cars