Article at a glance:

Supplying auto parts to the world

China's largest auto parts supplier started out, in 1969, as a repair shop for bicycles and farm tractors. Now Wanxiang is China's third-largest privately owned company, earning $165 million in 2003 on $1.8 billion of sales, including $380 million worth of parts exported or produced overseas. Lu Guanqiu, Wanxiang's founder, has been on a buying spree in recent years, acquiring auto parts makers in the United States and Europe to improve his company's technology and access to markets. However, a global glut of production capacity is forcing carmakers to put heavy pressure on suppliers to lower costs. Although Wanxiang has a labor cost advantage over its Western competitors, auto parts suppliers in the West have strengths such as larger scale and advanced technology.

The take-away

In this interview, Lu Guanqiu tells how Wanxiang expanded and discusses his plans for the future, including his dream of producing a Chinese brand of electric cars.