An employee works on a Volkswagen e-Golf electric automobile on the assembly line inside a factory on May 8 in Dresden, Germany. Car manufacturers have some major decisions to make about the future of electric and automated vehicles.
(JENS SCHLUETER/Getty Images)
The global automobile sector stands at the intersection of three major geopolitical trends: shifting trade dynamics, the transportation revolution and the rise of China as a technological competitor to the United States. In the short term, automobiles represent a key focus of the Trump administration, which has proposed measures that would target foreign cars with tariff barriers. Steel and aluminum tariffs, combined with extensive tariffs levied against China (as well as Beijing's retaliation to the United States), have the potential to disrupt supply chains and increase component costs. As electric vehicles themselves alter automobile markets over the coming decade, partnerships will be crucial to reducing developmental costs and standardizing components. And though the U.S. auto market will remain one of the world's largest, it will be dwarfed by the market opportunities that will emerge as demand for electric vehicles climbs in China, especially if a protracted trade battle limits access...
