China Automotive Systems on fast track

On China's vast system of roads and highways, where traffic was once almost exclusively made up of bicycles, two-wheel modes of transport are increasingly sharing the pavement with cars of every stripe—from a wide range of American, European and Japanese imports to a host of affordable offerings from homegrown automakers.

In fact, the automotive industry in China has grown by leaps and bounds in the past several years, thanks to the country's 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization and its phenomenal economic progress. Annual sales of passenger vehicles doubled between 2003 and 2007, driving China past Japan into the spot of the world's second-largest vehicle market after the United States.

While the global auto industry is being battered by sagging economic conditions that have caused consumers to put big-ticket items on the back burner, China's vehicle sales continue to increase, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. And in one segment of the automotive sector, a domestic player is accelerating fast, grabbing market share and expanding its alliances with automakers to cash in on the automotive boom. Meet China Automotive Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CAAS), a top supplier of automotive steering systems and components to Chinese automakers and, to a lesser extent, the American market...

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