OREANDA-NEWS. March 21, 2011. According to PwC's 14th Annual Global CEO Survey: automotive industry summary, conducted by PwC in the fourth quarter of 2010, 90% of automotive CEOs are confident that growth is on the rise in the next 12 months, which is nearly as high as their opinion before the global financial downturn in 2008, reported the press-centre of PwC.

PwC Autofacts anticipates that about 80% of global growth from 2010 to 2017 will come from emerging markets, and 34% of that forecast will come from China alone. Automotive CEOs also specified that BRIC countries are important for future growth.  China is now the largest automotive market with sales surpassing the U.S. in 2009 and 64% of CEOs are seeing it will continue to play a vital role in the automotive industry manufacturing strategies. There are already more automotive assembly plants in China than anywhere else in the world.  So it’s not surprising that 60% of automotive CEOs think the country is one of the most important for their future sourcing needs, but so are Germany (24%), the US (18%), Brazil (18%) and Russia (12%).

Rick Hanna, global automotive leader, PwC, commented:
"Automotive companies that have made strategic decisions to invest in China and forge joint ventures with Chinese partners are seeing strong revenue growth because of the actions taken over the last decade. CEOs recognize the importance of the domestic China market share.

"However, long-term sustainable profits will still be dependent on producing vehicles that consumers want to buy at the right price.  This is as true in China as it is everywhere else in the world."

The survey results indicate that innovation across the supply chain is critical to meeting consumer demands.  For decades, the automotive manufacturers and suppliers have closely integrated to drive product innovation and this trend continues to accelerate.  Results indicate that 76% of automotive CEOs plan to change their corporate strategies to foster product innovation across the supply chain.

Rick Hanna added:
"Today, the supply chain is more diverse than the industry has seen in the past. The supply base and partnerships have expanded to include battery makers, technology companies and energy companies to advance the development of electric vehicles and the infrastructures to support future demand and the technology platforms inside today's vehicles."