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Twenty or more years ago, automakers in the US and Europe turned their covetous eyes toward China, the most populous nation on Earth. As that country sought to drag itself up from the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution and become a modern economic powerhouse, the prospect of selling automobiles to China’s burgeoning middle class was too enticing to ignore. For years, the profits for selling cars in China gave a much needed boost to corporate balance sheets in Detroit, Munich, Stuttgart, and Wolfsburg.
Although we are seldom aware of it, change is happening all around us all the time. While all eyes have been fixed on China, India is now the most populous nation in the world. Chinese customers are opting more often for domestic nameplates, which has ended the gravy train for the likes of GM, BMW, Mercedes, and Volkswagen.
But could lightning strike twice for those foreign manufacturers? Volkswagen in particular is poised for disruptive changes, as it is now building more cars in Germany than it can sell. Could it learn from the experience of the Chinese and create a new source of revenue by selling its cars in other countries?
