"This year has the potential to be a tough year for western brands," said Benjamin Cavender, a Shanghai-based analyst at consultant China Market Research Group. China is "the heart and lungs of the Apple growth story." "The China market is extremely important to all carmakers," said Tu Le, Beijing-based founder of research firm Sino Auto Insights. Le thinks that Ford, Volkswagen and Tesla ( TSLA ) are among the Western automakers that are most vulnerable to China's slowdown. Apple suppliersShares in companies that provide components for Apple products were among the hardest hit by the fallout from the iPhone maker's warning.

Source: CNN January 03, 2019 04:16 UTC