The China factor – “Fifty years of innovations in horsepower, safety, and rider amenities have helped automobile sales grow by an average annual rate of 3 percent since 1964. This is roughly double the rate of global population growth over the same period and makes for a planet with over one billion vehicles on its roads. For the past 20 years, though, sales in North America, Europe, and Japan have been relatively flat. Growth has come from emerging markets—much of it in China, which over the past decade has seen auto sales almost triple, from slightly less than 8.5 million cars and trucks sold in 2004 to, estimates suggest, about 25 million in 2014. IHS Automotive predicts that more than 30 million vehicles a year will be sold in China by 2020, up from nearly 22 million in 2013. China’s promise has attracted more players to the country, so margins will naturally compress. Yet the country’s importance transcends these short-term results. In the decades ahead, China’s emergence as a dominant market and production center should have major implications for how cars are designed. Chinese tastes and standards, particularly at the luxury end, where automakers are notably raising the bar, will have a global influence.”