Dutch court to decide who controls Nexperia in high-stakes chip battle

Nexperia torn between its European management and Chinese parent company will face judges in Amsterdam this Wednesday, with the outcome likely to affect car manufacturers already struggling to get the chips they need.

The Dutch semiconductor company based in the Netherlands, has become the center of a management battle that started heating up last September. The trouble began when Dutch authorities took control of the business on September 30, saying they worried the company might move its operations and technology to China. The government later backed down from that decision to ease tensions with Beijing.

The situation got more complicated on October 7 when judges in Amsterdam removed Zhang Xuezheng, who founded Wingtech, from his position as Nexperia’s chief executive. The court also stripped Wingtech, the Chinese parent company, of its control over Nexperia’s shares. Judges said they had good reasons to question whether the company was being run properly.

Wednesday’s hearing marks the first time the case will be discussed in public. Judges will listen to arguments about whether they should launch a full investigation into claims of poor management made by senior European staff at Nexperia. They’ll also consider whether earlier court actions should be undone. A final decision will come at a later date as reported by Reuters.

When judges sided with Nexperia’s European managers before, they pointed out that Zhang might have faced conflicts because he owns a factory in Shanghai that sells wafers to Nexperia. They also said Zhang and Wingtech hadn’t made necessary changes to keep Nexperia off a U.S. blacklist.

Chinese parent company pushes back

Ruby Yang, who chairs Wingtech, said in a statement Tuesday that the company could only survive if previous court measures were reversed. Wingtech plans to tell the court that Zhang’s strategy for Nexperia made sense for a subsidiary of a Chinese company with major sales, customers, and growth possibilities in China, the world’s biggest car market.

Zhang won’t show up in person, but his attorneys will speak for him. Dutch government representatives are expected to back Nexperia’s position.

During 2025, the U.S., Dutch and Chinese governments all put measures in place affecting Nexperia, then pulled them back, citing concerns about geopolitics and strategy.

Nexperia, which brought in $331 million in profit on $2.06 billion in sales during 2024, is now splitting into two smaller companies while customers search for other chip suppliers.

The way Nexperia operates involves making silicon wafers in Europe that contain multiple chips. These wafers then travel to a plant in China where workers cut and package them. However, as reported by Cryptopolitan, the Dutch company stopped sending wafers to China in October because bills weren’t being paid. Nexperia plans to put $300 million into expanding packaging operations in Malaysia to serve customers outside China.

The packaging facility in Dongguan has renamed itself “Nexperia China” and intends to replace European production with Chinese options, including supplies from Zhang’s WingSkySemi plant.

Honda extends factory shutdowns

Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, confirmed it will keep three Chinese factories closed for an additional two weeks because of semiconductor shortages. The plants, run through the GAC-Honda partnership, will now restart on 19 January instead of 6 January as originally planned. They shut down on 29 December before the extension was announced.

These facilities made roughly 816,597 vehicles in 2024, representing about 22% of Honda’s worldwide production. The company also delivered over 850,000 vehicles in China during the same period.

Honda also stopped operations at two Japanese plants in early January due to supply issues amid Nexperia fallout. The company cut its global sales forecast from 3.62 million to 3.34 million vehicles and expects semiconductor shortages to reduce operating profit by approximately $960 million for the fiscal year ending March 2026.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced that tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports will rise in June 2027, though the specific rate will be announced at least a month before. Until then, the tariff rate on semiconductor imports from China will stay at zero for 18 months.

Trade officials said their investigation found China using unfair trade practices in the industry. “For decades, China has targeted the semiconductor industry for dominance and has employed increasingly aggressive and sweeping non-market policies and practices in pursuing dominance of the sector,” the filing stated.

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