The Observer Network by Nguyen Jaki
The mourning of U.S. and European car companies has not yet settled, and the crisis of "confession" triggered by the Dutch domination of Chinese-owned semiconductor enterprises has spread to Latin America.
After meeting with the chairman of the Brazilian National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea) on Tuesday, Uallace Moreira, Secretary of Development, Industry, Trade and Services, said that if the global chip supply crisis continues, some automakers could suspend production operations in Brazil in the next two to three weeks.
Founded on May 15, 1956, Anfavea represents foreign automobile manufacturers with operations and production facilities in Brazil. Members include Audi, BMW, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, among others.
According to reports, Brazilian Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services Gerardo Alkmin also attended the meeting. Moreira did not specify which Brazilian car companies would be hit first, but mentioned that in response to the private sector's call for dialogue, Alkmin had contacted the Brazilian ambassador to China and the China ambassador to Brazil to promote the launch of relevant discussions.
Reuters pointed out that the trigger for this crisis was the Dutch government's forced takeover of Anshi Semiconductor, a Chinese company controlled by Wentai Technology. Media visits found that after the Dutch intervention, Anshi Semiconductor's Dongguan factory restricted shipments since the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday of China's National Day. The global automobile supply chain immediately had a "major earthquake", and American, and Japanese automobile companies wailed everywhere.
The Wall Street Journal on the 28th quoted informed sources as saying that the production disruption caused by a shortage of simple microchips has caused car companies to increase anxiety, and the global car manufacturers "stop production tide" is likely to open.
Anselm Semiconductor manufactures semiconductor cylinders in Germany and the UK, then ships them to China for packaging testing, and about 80% of the final product is completed in China.The company generated approximately $2 billion in revenue last year, 60% of which came from automotive-related.
According to the report, after the occupation incident triggered a "supply cut-off", the chip inventory of some car companies and suppliers has been at a low level and may be exhausted in the next few days. Corporate executives and analysts warn that if Nexperia is unable to resume supply in the near future, it will be very difficult to find enough replacement chips because its chips are widely used.
Chip expert Martin Geißler told the German Handelsblatt earlier that only a few suppliers in the world can theoretically replace Nexperia's products; More importantly, its components have been deeply integrated into the supply chains of many customers. "About one-third of the companies in the automotive supply chain actually rely on this Chinese-funded enterprise as the exclusive supplier."
Volvo Cars Chief Executive Officer Håkan Samuelsson added, “While these components are not highly strategic products, there are hundreds of small microprocessors in the car, such as in the door lock system, air conditioning control, car speed meter and other parts.”
This means that automakers cannot simply solve the problem by temporarily purchasing replacement chips or adjusting production plans."This is a high-level issue that is beyond our control."
Volvo Cars and Volkswagen Group warned last week that their European factories could be temporarily closed if the deadlock is not resolved. Bosch Group also said that its German production line may be affected and employees may be forced to take holidays.
According to the U.S. media, Japanese Honda has also begun to implement temporary production cuts and shutdowns on its North American plants this week.
Anselm Semiconductor Employees Walk Through The Clean Room East IC
Vito Beato, chapter president of the Canadian Union of Auto Workers (Unifor), revealed that Honda's assembly plant in Alliston, Ontario, Canada, cut production capacity by half on Monday, and the production reduction will continue until Wednesday. The plant is responsible for producing the Civic sedan and CR-V sport utility vehicle.
In a video he posted on Facebook, he also mentioned that the plant plans to shut down for a week from Thursday and then restore half of its capacity later next week.
A spokesman for Honda said the company is "dealing with the issue of semiconductor supply chains across the industry" and managing existing stockpiles properly through strategic adjustments.The spokesman confirmed that Honda has begun adjustments to its "mass-produced" automotive plants in North America this week, including a temporary shutdown.
Jim Farley, president and chief executive officer of Ford Motor Company, told analysts that the U.S. government was also involved in mediating the case.
In a note this week, Barclays analysts pointed out that while many suppliers believe there are alternatives to the base chips, the problem is limited inventory. Most suppliers typically only hold inventory for two to three weeks.
The report said the shortage of chips could hit automotive suppliers early this week, and if the stagnation in the underlying chip supply chain continues, “the impact could spread beyond the automotive industry.”
The German Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Federation (VDMA) also told US media that manufacturers of products such as generators, construction machinery and agricultural machinery will also be affected.
A spokesman for Semiconductor said the company is currently applying for regulatory exemptions and is working to mitigate the impact, but when to resume supply has not been clearly answered.
Many Chinese departments responded earlier and stressed that China firmly opposes the Netherlands' generalization of the concept of national security and its direct intervention in the internal affairs of enterprises by administrative means. The Dutch side's move not only violates the spirit of contract and market principles, but also seriously damages the Dutch business environment and harms others and itself.
And the Dutch political side, which broke out of the terrible calamity, hastened to break away, intent on throwing out the team.
According to a Reuters report on October 27, four Dutch sources familiar with the government's thinking discredited Nexperia's parent company and China's leading semiconductor company Wingtech Technology, claiming that the reason why the Netherlands took action in September was because they were worried about the Chinese team's dismantling. European operations and transfer production to China.
These sources said that the Chinese team had planned to lay off 40% of Anshi Semiconductor's employees and close the company's R & D facilities in Munich, Germany. They also said that before October 1, the Chinese team had transferred "secrets" from the Manchester factory, including chip design and machine set-up, and planned to transfer physical equipment from the Hamburg factory.
However, they did not provide any evidence, and they also dreamed that the Dutch government could negotiate a solution with China and reorganize the management of Anshi Semiconductor into a unified "Dutch-China structure."
Last week, AXS Semiconductor (China) Co., Ltd. issued a letter to customers through its Weixin Official Accounts, publicly responding to the doubts of the Dutch AXS management for the first time, emphasizing that its China entity operates independently in strict accordance with the law, and accusing the Dutch side of "spreading false information."
The British "Financial Times" reported on the 28th that a spokesperson for Wentai Technology directly pointed out the Dutch side's attempt, saying that it "seems to be intended for a new Dutch local company to take over Anshi Semiconductor." But any Dutch company that takes over is "doomed to failure" because "customers will not follow the new company."
The spokesman also noted that if Chinese and European operations are cut off, Anselm Semiconductor will lose most of the “back-end production capacity”, “that capacity gap in the foreseeable future cannot be filled by Europe or elsewhere.”
The Dutch "Financial Daily" reported on the same day that Wentai Technology criticized the Dutch government for "interference" in its official response and urged the Netherlands to return control of the company."Only in this way can the Netherlands begin to repair its damaged reputation, ease international tensions, and safeguard Economic security for itself and Europe."
The issue of rare earth supply and Nexperia semiconductor has seriously affected the European automobile industry and made EU member states feel uneasy.
In the past few days, Germany, France and the European Commission have repeatedly spoken through the media, declaring that they will take retaliatory measures against China, and not rule out the use of trade "nuclear options".
According to Bloomberg news agency, on October 27 local time, the European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said that China and Europe had held the first round of video conference on 27th, and the Chinese high-tech delegation will visit Brussels on Thursday (30th) to discuss relevant issues with the EU.
The Financial Times also stated that the EU originally hoped to discuss this issue with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao in Europe, but people familiar with the matter revealed that Wang Wentao will not visit Europe with the delegation, so the two sides are expected to send "senior technical experts" to discuss the supply of key raw materials and Nexperia. Consultations on semiconductor issues.
During a video conversation with the European Commission's trade and economic security commissioner, Sergei Chovich, Wang Ventao said that China firmly opposes the generalization of the "national security" concept, and hopes that the European side will play an important constructive role, urging the Netherlands to adhere to the spirit of the contract and the market principles, from the general situation of safeguarding the security and stability of the global supply chain, to propose appropriate solutions as soon as possible.
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