The front page of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, "A Fatal Dependence."
Small chips, big politics: Semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia is caught between the front lines of the Sino-US trade dispute.
Because Volkswagen or BMW cannot produce without these chips, the German economy may come to a standstill.
The supply interruption of Nexperia Semiconductor has caused serious impact on the German automotive industry:
1. Risk of production stagnation
Volkswagen has announced the suspension of production of models such as the Golf and Tiguan at the Wolfsburg factory, with an expected downtime of 10-20 days. The vehicles produced at this factory include core components, and the shutdown will directly affect 727,000 car-related jobs in Germany.
2. Supply chain crisis
The chips produced by Nexperia Semiconductor are mainly used for basic vehicle function control (such as door switches, airbag systems, etc.), and its products cover 63 billion components in Europe. Due to the integration of chips through component suppliers into the complete vehicles, the entire upstream and downstream of the European automotive manufacturing industry faces the risk of shutdown.
3. Economic impact
The German automotive industry requires 11 billion euros (about 90.9 billion yuan) annually to maintain investment, but the chip supply disruption has put pressure on the capital chain. Experts point out that if the supply chain cannot be restored in time, it may lead to more widespread production restrictions or even shutdowns.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1846816440469596/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.