After rare protests in China over the weekend over tighter COVID-19 restrictions, investor attention has once again shifted to the country. According to Goldman Sachs, many global companies have exposure to China, including some of the world’s largest automakers, which generate between 20% and 40% of their worldwide sales in the country. In a note to clients on 22 November – ahead of the latest protests – the investment bank mapped out the global auto industry’s risks to Chinese consumers, noting that “China is a significant profit driver for major global carmakers and their suppliers”. Is.” Some of the companies covered in Goldman’s report are: Tesla Tesla has significant exposure in China; Goldman Sachs said the country would account for 27% of the group’s sales and 52% of total production volumes in 2021. The bank noted that Tesla owns and operates 224 showrooms and 99 service centers across the country. Tesla plans to increase its annual production capacity by 400% to 750,000 cars in 2022 at its Shanghai factory to meet domestic demand. In addition, the company also exports a significant number of vehicles made at its Chinese Gigafactory to regional markets. Goldman Sachs has a $305 price target on Tesla, which gives it a potential upside of about 66% from the current share price of about $182. Mercedes-Benz Goldman Sachs estimates Mercedes will sell 734,000 cars in China this year. The investment bank has projected annual sales growth of 2.7% and 3.1% for 2023 and 2024 respectively in the country, which will account for 36-37% of worldwide sales. The bank said China would make up 10% of the company’s total profits in 2021, or 3.2 billion euros ($3.34 billion), up from just 2% a decade ago. Analysts at Goldman have a buy-rate on Mercedes-Benz with a price target of 69 euros, which gives it a potential upside of about 12% from the current share price of 61.5 euros. Goldman said that Volkswagen As the first global automaker to enter China in 1984, VW has seen sales grow 10% year-over-year in the country over the past two decades. However, the bank estimates that new car sales in China will stabilize at 3 million to 3.1 million cars per year, accounting for a third of the automaker’s global sales, between 2022 and 2024. Operating profit from VW’s joint venture with China’s SAIC contributed an average of 6.7% to Volkswagen Group profit between 2019 and 2021, Goldman said. This is lower than in previous years, as demand has come down in recent years. Goldman has a neutral rating on VW stock with a price target of 150 euros per share, due to the many downside risks the company faces in Europe and China. On Monday it was trading around 135 Euros. Meanwhile, Volkswagen’s joint venture partner SAIC is sell-rated by Goldman Sachs, which gives it a downside potential of 9%. Analysts said, “We rate the stock Sell partially because Chinese EV industry’s product innovations at mass market price points are driving faster than expected EV adoption and therefore giving SAIC market share growth and profits.” reveals a decline in General Motors’ Goldman Sachs estimates that roughly half of all cars sold by GM worldwide between 2022 and 2024 will be in China. The carmaker is expected to sell an average of 2.7 million vehicles per year in China over the same period. The investment bank expects China’s contribution to GM’s earnings to grow between 15% and 33.6% annually over the next two years. Goldman has a buy-rate on GM and a $42 price target on the stock, which is higher than the current share price of $40.46. Other automakers such as Toyota, BMW, Ford and Honda were also highlighted in the Goldman report as having between 20%-50% of their global car volume produced in China. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this story.