Nexperia China bounces back with global launch after Dutch wafer ban

Nexperia China has staged a remarkable turnaround, transitioning from a Dutch-imposed wafer cutoff to 12-inch mass production in less than 11 months, its top executive said at a global product launch in Shanghai on Sunday.

Despite all the difficulties, Nexperia China said it had delivered over 40 billion chips to thousands of global customers with zero quality incidents over the past 11 months.

This is the first collective public appearance of Nexperia China's core management team since the supply chain crisis on September 30, 2025.

Back then, the Dutch government invoked a law to take over Nexperia, the chipmaker controlled by Chinese firm Wingtech Technology. Weeks later, on Oct 26, Nexperia's Dutch headquarters halted wafer supplies to the company's Dongguan plant.

"Wafer supply was cut off. Systems went offline. Data from the overseas headquarters became inaccessible. We had orders, clients and trust — but no wafers to process," Zhang Qiuming, CEO of Nexperia China, said.

The Chinese unit fought back. In March 2026, Nexperia China announced small-batch production of bipolar discrete devices on a 12-inch wafer platform — a leap from the 6-inch and 8-inch processes used by its Dutch parent, which lacks 12-inch capabilities in Europe. By May, it had completed an independent operations system with full decision-making authority.
The 12-inch platform has slashed automotive chip delivery times from 12-16 months to about five weeks, while product iteration cycles dropped from 36 months to just 9-12 months.

"Chinese independent operations are not about confronting anyone — they are about protecting those we serve," Zhang said. "To our customers, choosing Nexperia China means no more supply worries."

Nexperia China is now approaching 100 percent local semiconductor production.

"We're late, but we're back," Zhang said.