Core breakthrough: Nexperia China’s 12-inch automotive chip mass production ends overseas technological monopoly
In March 2026, China’s semiconductor industry achieved a milestone – Nexperia China announced the official large-scale mass production of its independently developed 12-inch automotive-grade semiconductor wafer platform. This marks China’s complete independence from overseas supply chains in the field of core automotive chips. The mass-produced 12-inch wafer production line is the first domestically independent line certified by international automotive standards in China, covering key components such as Schottky rectifiers and MOSFETs (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors), directly competing with similar products from Infineon (Europe) and Renesas (Japan).
In terms of technical parameters, the platform demonstrates significant late-mover advantages: adopting an advanced 28nm process node, a single wafer can produce 8,000-10,000 chips, an increase of 1.8 times compared with traditional 8-inch production lines; through optimized wafer-level packaging technology, the chip yield rate remains stable above 97%, 3 percentage points higher than the industry average; the unit chip manufacturing cost is 30% lower than that of overseas counterparts. Among them, the Schottky rectifier has an on-resistance as low as 0.02Ω and a 20% reduction in switching loss, fully meeting the performance requirements for high-voltage fast charging and intelligent driving of new energy vehicles. The Chief Technology Officer of Nexperia China revealed that the production line has accumulated R&D investment exceeding 6 billion yuan, overcoming technical bottlenecks in the entire process of “wafer manufacturing – packaging and testing – reliability verification” over 5 years, with 127 related patent applications filed.
Supply chain ripple effect: 40% of global automotive chip procurement shifts to China
Nexperia China’s technological breakthrough has quickly triggered a restructuring of the global automotive industry chain. Data shows that in the first quarter of 2026, international automakers such as Nissan, Volkswagen, and BMW have successively adjusted their chip procurement lists. The proportion of Chinese-made automotive-grade chips in their procurement has jumped from 8% last year to 23%, and is expected to exceed 30% for the full year. Behind this transformation lies the dual advantages of “cost + efficiency” demonstrated by China’s industrial chain: compared with the average 45-day delivery cycle of European-made chips, Chinese-made chips have shortened the delivery cycle to 25 days through a closed-loop model of “local wafer manufacturing + nearby packaging and testing”, while the product price is 18%-25% lower than that of overseas counterparts.
A responsible person for Volkswagen’s procurement stated that choosing Chinese-made chips can not only reduce production costs but also avoid the risk of supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitics. In addition to international automakers, the localization rate of chips in Chinese domestic automakers such as BYD and NIO has risen to 65%, an increase of 22 percentage points from last year. The transfer of the supply chain has also driven the coordinated development of upstream and downstream industries: In the first quarter of 2026, the order volume of domestic semiconductor packaging and testing enterprises increased by 58% year-on-year, the shipment volume of etchers from equipment supplier SMEE (Shanghai Microelectronics Equipment Co., Ltd.) increased by 42% year-on-year, and the market share of polishing liquid products from material enterprise Versum Materials (China) exceeded 15%.
At the same time, the counterproductive effect of technological blockades has emerged. Due to its previous cooperation with the United States’ technological restrictions on China, Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASMI saw its orders in China plummet by 40%, with quarterly revenue falling by 27% year-on-year; the market share of ON Semiconductor (US) in China’s automotive-grade chip business dropped from 12% to 5%, forcing the closure of some overseas production lines. Analysts point out that the global semiconductor supply chain is shifting from “single reliance on Europe and the US” to “multipolar collaboration”, and China has become an irreplaceable core production base.
Dual-driver of policy and market: Accelerated breakthrough of China’s semiconductor industry
The breakthrough of China’s semiconductor industry chain is inseparable from the dual driving forces of policy support and market demand. At the policy level, the third phase of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (referred to as the “Big Fund”) has been launched with a scale of 350 billion yuan, focusing on supporting fields such as 12-inch wafer manufacturing, advanced packaging, and key materials. Local governments have also introduced supporting policies, establishing semiconductor industrial parks in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hefei and other places, providing tax reductions, R&D subsidies and other supports. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, it attracted more than 80 billion yuan in industrial investment.
Financial support continues to increase: In the first two months of 2026, the weighted average interest rate of new loans issued to semiconductor enterprises dropped to 2.85%, 0.25 percentage points lower than the average interest rate of overall enterprise loans. The Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) has cumulatively raised more than 190 billion yuan for 78 semiconductor enterprises, among which Nexperia China raised 15 billion yuan through the STAR Market to expand 12-inch wafer production capacity. On the demand side, as the world’s largest automobile producer and consumer, China’s new energy vehicle sales reached 16.8 million units in 2025, driving a 43% year-on-year growth in demand for automotive-grade chips and providing a broad market verification space for local enterprises.
In addition, the mechanism for industrial chain collaborative innovation has been continuously improved. The “Automotive-grade Semiconductor Innovation Alliance”, led by enterprises such as Nexperia China, HiSilicon (Huawei), and SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has united more than 200 upstream and downstream enterprises to carry out technological research, formulated 18 industry standards, and promoted technological collaboration in chip design, manufacturing, testing and other links. Data from the alliance shows that through collaborative innovation, the average R&D cycle of domestic automotive-grade chips has been shortened by 18 months, and R&D costs have been reduced by 30%.
Future challenges and outlook: Extending to advanced processes and diversified applications
Despite achieving phased breakthroughs, China’s semiconductor industry still faces multiple challenges: In the field of advanced processes of 7nm and below, domestic enterprises are still restricted by equipment and material bottlenecks. The localization rate of high-end EDA (Electronic Design Automation) software is less than 10%, relying on overseas suppliers; technological restrictions brought about by international trade frictions have not been completely lifted. In this regard, industry experts suggest that it is necessary to continue increasing investment in basic R&D, focusing on breaking through “chokepoint” links such as lithography machines, EDA software, and third-generation semiconductor materials. At the same time, through international cooperation, expand technological exchanges and market cooperation with regions such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East to reduce reliance on a single market.
Looking forward, China’s semiconductor industry will make efforts in both “advanced processes + diversified applications”. Nexperia China plans to increase its 12-inch wafer production capacity to 50,000 wafers per month by the end of 2026 and launch R&D on 7nm automotive-grade chips in 2027. In addition to the automotive field, domestic enterprises are accelerating layout in application scenarios such as industrial control, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things. It is expected that China’s semiconductor market size will exceed 3 trillion yuan by 2028, with its global market share rising to 28%. Analysts point out that with continuous technological iteration and improved industrial chain, China’s semiconductor industry will move from “replacement” to “leadership”, injecting new momentum into the development of the global electronic information industry.