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Honda announced that it will suspend production at multiple plants in Japan from January 5th to 6th and reduce operations until January 9th. While it’s unclear which factories will be affected, some estimates suggest it will affect the company’s Suzuka and Saitama plants, which mainly produce cars for the domestic market. In addition, the company will also close three factories in China from December 29 to January 2. digital agethe Japanese automaker had to reduce or cease operations due to a lack of traditional chip supplies sourced from Nexperia.
While Nexperia doesn’t produce cutting-edge semiconductors like TSMC and Samsung, it’s still one of the world’s largest traditional chipmakers. Although these parts may be cheap, they are still essential components in every vehicle for major systems like power steering and automatic windows. The problems began in mid-October, when the Dutch government seized the company from its Chinese owner Wingtech Technology over concerns that the Dutch subsidiary was illegally transferring technology to its Chinese parent.
The move sparked an ongoing dispute involving Beijing as it blocks the export of certain Nexperia products, negatively impacting the global automotive supply chain. It was also revealed that Washington may be involved in the acquisition, especially since Wingtech Technology has been included in its entity list since 2024. Over time, Japan’s auto industry said the conflict could lead to chaos, especially since it may take some time before they can receive parts from Nexperia again or find new sources of chips. Volkswagen and BMW were reported to have relaxed production in late October as car companies were still sounding the alarm about a shortage of automotive chips in mid-November.
There have been some positive developments on the issue in recent years, with China allowing the company to resume exports following talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump. The Dutch government also said it was ready to give up control of Nexperia if chip shipments from its Chinese subsidiary restarted and financial problems were resolved. Still, some issues appear to remain unresolved, with the impact still being felt throughout the automotive industry’s chip supply chain.
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