DETROIT — Automotive CEOs surveyed by PwC in the fourth quarter of 2010 are confident that growth is on the rise in 2011. This represents a full 90 percent of automotive CEOs indicating that they are somewhat confident or very confident in achieving revenue growth in the next 12 months, which is nearly as high as their opinion before the global financial downturn in 2008, according to PwC’s 14th Annual Global CEO Survey: Automotive Industry Summary. 
Automotive CEOs also specified that Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are important for future growth. They are particularly interested in China, with 64 percent seeing it as a top future market.
PwC Autofacts, the company’s automotive forecasting service, anticipates that about 80 percent of global growth from 2010 to 2017 will come from emerging markets, and 34 percent of that forecast will come from China alone. This forecast coincides with the opinions of the automotive CEOs surveyed, says PwC, with 64 percent indicating they are particularly interested in China — a response that is 25 percentage points above the overall cross-sector average.
China is now the largest automotive market, with sales surpassing the U.S. in 2009. China 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, according to PwC’s research.
"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," said Rick Hanna, global automotive leader, PwC. "Automotive companies 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 percent of automotive CEOs plan to change their corporate strategies to foster product innovation across the supply chain.
"Today, the supply chain is more diverse than the industry has seen in the past," explained Hanna. "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."
For PwC’s 14th Annual Global CEO Survey, 1,201 interviews were conducted in 69 countries during the last quarter of 2010. By region, 420 interviews were conducted in Western Europe, 257 in Asia Pacific, 221 in Latin America, 148 in North America, 98 in Eastern Europe and 57 in the Middle East and Africa. The Automotive Industry Summary comprises of 50 automotive respondents from 20 countries.
The latest Annual Global CEO Survey: Automotive Industry Summary includes interviews with Timothy Manganello, chairman and CEO of BorgWarner Inc. and Stephen Roell, chairman and CEO of Johnson Controls Inc. More in-depth results, industry trends and CEO viewpoints can be found in the 14th Annual Global CEO Survey and the Automotive Industry Summary at www.pwc.com/ceosurvey or www.pwc.com/auto. Additional industry summaries are also available.
