Forty-two years ago, Liu Siong Song built machines to help factories make cheap toys and watches. Then he made them for motorcycle companies.Now he helps Tesla, in the words of Elon Musk, “make full-size cars in the same way that toy cars are made.”Mr. Liu, 69, may have come full circle, in a sense, but he also may play a role in the future of driving. His company is one of the emerging Chinese manufacturers competing aggressively and competently with traditional players in the United States, Japan and Europe in the emerging electric car industry.Electric cars could shake up the auto industry — and, by extension, jobs, technology and geopolitical influence. Think of how names like General Motors and Volkswagen have given the United States and Germany economic heft and international credibility.China is poised …
