China tariff shock

Foreign carmakers face higher auto parts import tariffs to “encourage” them to bring new advanced technologies and manufacturing expertise into the country.

In 2006 Buick sold more cars in China than at home, and, in fact, China recently has become General Motors' second-largest market. French marque Citroën sold more cars in China than it did in the U.K. (a traditionally strong market for the brand) last year.

China's car market has grown rapidly in recent years; it is now the world's second largest after the U.S. Even though current private-car ownership is a small fraction of what one may find in any developed country, the sheer mass of China's near-1.4 billion population holds the promise of unheard-of growth rates for car sales in the near future.