Nexperia China claims to be making chips using 12-inch wafers — subsidiary deepens split with Dutch parent as it builds out 'mass production capabilities'

Nexperia's Chinese subsidiary has announced that it has achieved small-batch production of chips using 12-inch silicon wafers, a development that deepens the split between the unit and its Dutch parent company, which does not manufacture wafers at that diameter.

In a statement posted to its Chinese social media account, Nexperia China said it had reached a new milestone in its "independent R&D and mass production capabilities," per Reuters, producing bipolar discrete devices, Schottky rectifiers, and electrostatic discharge protection devices. All of these are commodity power semiconductors that the Dutch company also manufactures. Nexperia's European headquarters declined to comment, and Nexperia China could not immediately be reached to confirm where it is sourcing its 12-inch wafers.

The most likely supplier is WingSkySemi, a 12-inch wafer fab in Shanghai operated by Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng. Back in December, Reuters reported on a letter sent to Nexperia China's distributors, which named WingSkySemi as the planned source of automotive-grade wafers, with a stated monthly capacity of 30,000 wafers, alongside 8-inch IGBT wafer supply from Shanghai GAT Semiconductor and United Nova Technology Co., a fab linked to SMIC.

The chips that Nexperia China claims it can now produce are simpler than IGBTs, the insulated-gate bipolar transistors used for current regulation in applications like EVs and industrial equipment. That said, if true, the announcement demonstrates how far the company’s Chinese subsidiary has moved toward building a self-contained supply chain since its spat with Nexperia proper began in late 2025.

That started when the Dutch government took control of Nexperia from Wingtech in October 2025, citing governance concerns, and subsequently installed a European management team. In October, the Dutch side halted wafer shipments to Nexperia's Chinese factories, citing nonpayment, while a Dutch court ordered Wingtech's founder removed as Nexperia CEO.

Beijing then responded by restricting exports of Nexperia's finished chips, causing shortages that forced Honda to temporarily suspend production at factories in China and Japan. Both governments partially relaxed their measures in November, but legal proceedings and the internal battle over control have continued to rage on, with Nexperia saying in December that its Chinese subsidiary has shown "no intention to negotiate a short-term solution to restore the flow of chips to customers."

Nexperia China has said it delivered more than 11 billion chips to over 800 customers since mid-October despite the disruption. A Dutch court hearing on control of the company was scheduled for January 14, but it’s not yet clear what followed that hearing, and no resolution to the corporate governance dispute has been publicly announced.

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