European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths.
To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said.
The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said.
Photo: REUTERS
“We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also heads Schaeffler AG’s powertrain & chassis division, said in an interview.
The moves follow last month’s sudden supply disruption at Chinese-owned Nexperia. The conflict escalated when Beijing blocked exports of key components from Nexperia’s Chinese factories, in response to the Netherlands seizing control of the company’s Dutch operations.
The fallout quickly spread to manufacturers relying on the low-tech but vital chips. Honda Motor Co cut its annual profit guidance after halting production at some plants, while ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Robert Bosch GmbH, the world’s biggest car-parts maker, slowed output. Volkswagen AG and BMW AG set up task forces to source semiconductors, and prices for the components spiked.
“For procurement leaders, this is more than a temporary disruption,” said Sapna Amlani, who oversees Moody’s global supply chain practice. “It signals a structural risk: geopolitical decisions can instantly reshape sourcing economics.”
While governments have made some progress toward a resolution and deliveries are said to have restarted, the feud at Nexperia continues, keeping supply concerns front of mind.
Rolling back established supply lines is costly and complex, with the push for changes revealing deep discomfort among manufacturers as former trade partners turn foes. The chip supply chain, which relies on cross-regional flows, has been exposed as one of the weakest links in the China-US tug of war that is sidelining Europe.
“What we are feeling is that in the geopolitical arena, the American and the Chinese value chains are slowly separating from each other,” German chipmaker Infineon Technologies AG chief executive officer Jochen Hanebeck said.
Nexperia, whose chips power simpler features like window controls and steering systems, currently holds a market share of more than 20 percent in the segment, according to research firm Omdia.
Competitors that could replace its products include US firms On Semiconductor Corp, Vishay General Semiconductor LLC and Diodes Inc, as well as Japanese manufacturer Rohm Co, according to Omdia data.
A spokeswoman for OnSemi said that it is in discussions with existing and new customers “to be able to best support them over the long term.”
During task-force meetings convened to tackle the Nexperia shortage, Zink said carmakers frequently asked: “What are we going to do thereafter?”
The clash over chips adds to persistent concerns about the supply of rare earths, important for magnets that help operate batteries and electric vehicle (EV) motors. China retains a near monopoly on processing the materials and has frequently throttled supply for leverage.
Any meaningful recalibration of sourcing components outside China — be it batteries, chips or rare earths — would take time, Zink said, estimating a time frame of three to seven years depending on the component.
The string of issues has highlighted the risk of going EV-only in Europe, he added, with China supplying the vast majority of the region’s batteries — a dependency he expects to hold for years to come.
That is adding urgency to calls to walk back the EU’s 2035 phase-out of new combustion-engine cars.
The bloc should rethink that plan and keep allowing the sale of new hybrid models and range-extender EVs to reduce that exposure and save jobs, Zink said.
“We should have no illusions on this,” he said, adding that replacing Chinese battery cells and refineries is “going to be difficult for decades.”
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