The world's largest auto parts supplier Robert Bosch GmbH expects China to remain the world's biggest auto market with the U.S. unlikely to reclaim this position after its recovery from last year's gloom.

China has replaced the U.S. as the biggest world market and that is irreversible, Franz Fehrenbach, head of Bosch management, said in an interview at the German firm's Stuttgart headquarters.

Fehrenbach's comments highlight the growing importance of the Auto China show in Beijing, which kicks off on Friday and is drawing top executives from nearly all global auto makers to Beijing.

Fehrenbach said he sees particularly strong potential in central China, which isn't yet as developed as other regions, and where a minicar cheaper than the Tata Nano could be met by strong demand. The four-seat minicar of India's Tata Motors Ltd. is the world's cheapest car.

Fehrenbach's comments are also the latest indication of a broad shift in the global auto industry toward Asian growth markets. China was one of the few bright spots for auto makers amid the recession as demand soared, fueled partly by extensive economic stimulus measures. The U.S. auto market was, by contrast, battered by eroding demand amid the economic crisis as credit markets dried up. Some analysts and auto makers, however, expect the U.S. to reclaim the top position this year or in 2011.

In 2009, Bosch's sales in China came in at around 2.9 billion euros ($3.9 billion), an increase of almost 30%. In terms of sales, the country was Bosch's third-biggest market.

'This year, we're going to have high two-digit growth rates there,' said Fehrenbach. In the first quarter, sales have increased about 60%, he said.

Bosch, which says it has been active in China for 100 years, has about 20 own sites in the country and employs about 23,000 people.

The BRIC countries--Brazil, Russia, India and China--are expected to drive the industry's recovery in coming years, with China being by far the largest market.

Bosch expects 30% of sales to come from the Asia-Pacific region by 2015, with 20% anticipated to come from America and the remaining half from Europe. Bosch expects Asia-Pacific and U.S. to account for an equal percentage of sales.

Fehrenbach also said that the transfer of knowledge between Europe and Asia is no longer a 'one-way street', as Western companies are gaining valuable expertise in emerging markets. The pressure in emerging markets to find simple and cost-effective solutions is having a positive effect on industrial countries, the manager said.