DETROIT-Automotive CEOs surveyed by PwC in the fourth quarter of 2010 say they are confident that growth is on the rise in 2011. This represents 90% of automotive CEOs indicating that they are somewhat confident or very confident in achieving revenue growth in the next 12 months, which is nearly as high as their opinion before the global financial downturn in 2008, according to PwC's 14th Annual Global CEO Survey: automotive industry summary .

Automotive CEOs also specified that Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) are important for future growth. They are particularly interested in China, with 64% seeing it as a top future market.

PwC Autofacts anticipates that about 80% of global growth from 2010 to 2017 will come from emerging markets, and 34% of that forecast will come from China alone. This prediction is also the opinion of automotive CEOs surveyed, with 64% indicating that they are particularly interested in China -- a response that is 25 percentage points above the overall cross-sector average.

China is now the largest automotive market with sales surpassing the United States in 2009. China will continue to play a vital role in the automotive industry manufacturing strategies. There are already more automotive assembly plants in China than anywhere else in the world.

The survey results indicate that innovation across the supply chain is critical to meeting consumer demands. For decades, the automotive manufacturers and suppliers have closely integrated to drive product innovation and this trend continues to accelerate. Results indicate that 76% of automotive CEOs plan to change their corporate strategies to foster product innovation across the supply chain.