For supplier CEOs, setting a strategy for China is still a risky business

Sales should ramp up once again, but how much of a commitment is needed for the remainder of this decade?

Many western suppliers are viewing the sharp falloff in China's auto sales in 2012 with a sigh of relief. The pace set in 2009 and 2010 was so fast and so intense that it led to pressures and confusion in the market. But it did create opportunity. The wild growth rate gave western suppliers that were not well established in the country a chance to gain traction – simply because parts manufacturers that already had a foothold could not satisfy all the demand.