ACEA calls for immediate resolution to critical chip supply shortage

Brussels – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has voiced its ‘deep concern’ over the potential significant disruption to European vehicle manufacturing if the supply of chips from Nexperia is not restored immediately.

On 10 October, car makers and their suppliers received notice from Nexperia outlining a sequence of events that has resulted in the chip-maker's no longer being able to guarantee delivery of chips to the automotive supply chain.

In a 16 Oct response to the development, ACEA stressed that Nexperia was “an important, high-volume supplier of semiconductors.”

Nexperia chips, said ACEA, are often used in the electronic control units of vehicle electrical systems and other applications.

“Without these chips, European automotive suppliers cannot build the parts and components needed to supply vehicle manufacturers and this therefore threatens production stoppages,” said the ACEA statement.

The Brussels-based association went on to say that the industry also sources the same types of chips from alternative players on the market.

However, it noted, the homologating of new suppliers for specific components and the build-up of production would take “several months.”

According to ACEA, stocks of Nexperia chips are generally predicted to last “only a few weeks.”

“Automakers have taken steps over the last years to diversify supply chains but risk cannot be mitigated down to zero,” said ACEA.

The “cross-industry issue”, said ACEA director general, Sigrid de Vries, is “affecting a large number of suppliers and virtually all of our members.”

“We suddenly find ourselves in this alarming situation. We really need quick and pragmatic solutions from all countries involved”