Expert comment: Supply and demand problems growing for car makers as coronavirus hits Chinese sales 21.02.2020: Responding to reports that car sales have fallen 92 per cent in China, Christian Stadler, Professor of Strategic Leadership at Warwick Business School and an expert in the automotive industry, said:

 
Responding to reports that car sales have fallen 92 per cent in China, Christian Stadler, Professor of Strategic Leadership at Warwick Business School and an expert in the automotive industry, said:



"China has become an increasingly important market for car manufacturers in recent years.



"That growth had already started to slow along with the Chinese economy, but since the start of the coronavirus outbreak we have seen empty show rooms in China. People are not going and buying cars.



"If that carries on much longer we can expect to see growth within the global car industry grind to a halt.



"Car manufacturers have an even bigger concern on the supply side. Every car contains somewhere in the region of 30,000 different parts, many of which come from China.



"Pressure will grow to find parts from elsewhere, but with a third of all car parts being manufactured in China, finding those parts or the capacity to make them elsewhere will be no easy task."



 
Warren Manger ,Warwick Business School