The days of free lunch for Chinese carmakers are numbered. The country lifting the 50 percent cap on the stakes that foreign automakers can own of local joint ventures sends a message to the Chinese partners: take charge of your own future. That means manufacturers like SAIC Motor Corp., China's largest by sales, Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. and BAIC Motor Corp. can no longer bank on the strong German, U.S. or Japanese partner brands to keep buoying sales indefinitely.