Nexperia Chip Shortage Contagion Hits Japanese Automakers

First Europe, now Japan. Automakers are getting ready for potential chip shortages after Dutch semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia warned that it may no longer be able to guarantee supply to its customers.

According to a report from Bloomberg, the Japanese Automobile Manufacturers Association is warning that the potential chip shortage will affect parts used in critical vehicle systems such as electronic control units. JAMA also added that any interruption could wreak havoc on its member companies, which include Toyota, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Mitsubishi, and Honda, among others.

"The chips manufactured by the affected manufacturers are important parts used in electronic control units, etc., and we recognize that this incident will have a serious impact on the global production of our member companies,” JAMA said in a statement. "We hope that the countries involved will come to a prompt and practical solution.”

The chips in question are not the high-end processors used in infotainment or autonomous driving systems, but rather small, widely used power and logic semiconductors that regulate electrical functions throughout modern vehicles. A shortage of these basic chips in 2021 paralyzed nearly every major automaker worldwide.

We've already been through the timeline a few times this week: the Dutch government seized control of Nexperia—based in Nijmegen and owned by China’s Wingtech Technology— after Washington threatened to place Nexperia on a U.S. trade blacklist because of its Chinese parent company.

In retaliation, Beijing imposed export controls on certain products made by Nexperia’s China operations, choking off supply to international customers. The fallout has already reached automakers across Europe. So far, it looks like Volkswagen is one of the hardest hit after yesterday's news that the German automaker is preparing to idle production at its Wolfsburg plant.

[Images: Toyota]

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