Automotive Composites Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Fiber (Glass, Carbon and Natural), By Resin Type (Thermoset and Thermoplastics), By Application (Exterior, Interior, Structure & Power train, and Other), and Regional Forecast, 2019-2026

The global automotive composites market Size was valued at USD 7.67 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 13.5 billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 7.56 % during the forecast period.

Automotive composites are lightweight materials that are majorly used in trucks, cars, and other vehicles, primarily under the hood and the interiors. Composites are preferred materials for the weight reduction in automobiles, and hence composites are used for many automotive interior and exterior applications. The usage of composite materials in the automotive industry has increased in the past few years due to its excellent dimensional stability. Properties of composites such as shape retention, low coefficient of thermal expansion, resistance to corrosion for the performance in dry and wet conditions, ease of manufacturing, and low weight to reduce overall vehicle mass make them preferred materials.

AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES MARKET TRENDS

Virtual Network to Utilize Composites in Automotive Industry at Full Potential

The automotive composites industry has an undeniable bright future, With the forthcoming improvements in technology and manufacturing processes, raw material, composite materials can be used in more and more components, replacing steel and aluminum. A virtual network of automotive composites manufacturers and researchers has been set up to conduct the research effectively. At the same time the virtual network will bring together all industry experts which helps to bring all the parts of automotive composites value chain together to advance the industry and material into mainstream acceptance.

AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES MARKET GROWTH FACTORS

Growing Demand for Light Weight Vehicles Is Expected To Drive the Automotive Composites Market

The market for automotive composites is driven by the heavy demand for the lightweight components in automotive parts for the sake of better fuel efficiency and reduces emissions in order to comply with the EU legislation. Composites offer weight reduction benefits by 15-20% using glass fiber composites and 25-40% for carbon fiber composites; as compared with other structural metallic materials such as steel, iron and aluminum. Moreover, to support the usage of composites in the automotive sector, various public-private partnership initiatives have already been launched in EU member states. Such initiatives include the establishment of composites and automotive lightweight materials innovation clusters, collaborations with automotive and the chemical industry to support the investment with supply chain analysis of the automotive carbon fiber composites market.

Increase in Demand for Electric Vehicles is Driving the Market for Automotive Composites

Many experts consider that electric vehicles will allow higher costs per kilo of weight saved in the vehicle weight reduction strategies. Normal IC engine driven cars can only afford to pay 2-3 per kg of weight saved but electric vehicles can save 7-8/kg. General vehicles consume more energy while accelerating in the standard drive cycles, and also able to recover higher amounts of kinetic energy through brake energy recovery. In electrical vehicles, a lower weight vehicle body allows downsizing batteries while maintaining range. Reducing vehicle body and battery pack weight then leads to a compounding effect on weight reduction of overall vehicle by enable the downsizing of other parts such and brake system and driven train parts. In ICE driven vehicles, the lower weight reduces emissions and improves performance at equal drivetrain power and torque levels.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Recycling Challenges Are Expected to Hamper the Market

The recycling challenges in automotive composites market are not simple and straightforward as recycling for the metallic materials. The reason behind this is that the fiber reinforcement parts are often joint to the other parts such as fixing with metal. The complexity in disassembly, separation, and de-bonding from automotive to be recycled is the major obstacle. Furthermore, even if the part can be separated from each other it is difficult to extract individual materials from the composite. This is due to the fact that composites are the mix of different materials and cannot be melted down and recycled. Thus the various recycling laws on the plastic and composites market and their cost ineffective recycling process are hindering the market.

AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES MARKET SEGMENTATION ANALYSIS

By Fiber Analysis

Glass Fiber to Hold the Largest Share in this Market

Based on fiber type, the global market study on automotive composites is classified into glass, carbon, and natural automotive composites. Glass fiber composites are majorly used in the automotive industries due to properties such as high strength, stiffness, flexibility, and resistance to chemical harm. In the past few years, there is a remarkable demand for the lightweight materials to increase the fuel efficiency with the demand for emission reduction. As glass fiber composites are affordable than carbon and natural fiber, they are heavily used in the automotive industry.

Moreover, automotive body parts such as engine hood, storage tanks, dashboards, are manufactured using natural fiber composites to reduce the use of other metals such as steel and aluminum and to promote the application and region of the bio-based material in automotive industry.

By Resin Type

Thermoset Segment to Account for the Major Share during the Forecast Period

In terms of resin, the market is segmented into thermoset and thermoplastics. The demand for thermoset is higher than that from the thermoplastic resin segment. The thermoset materials are used in a wide range of automobile applications such as headlamp housing, under the hood, electrical, and heat shielding components to exterior and interior structural parts. Moreover, the thermoset resins have low coefficient of thermal expansion, high impact strength, excellent dimensional stability, and many other composite properties.

Furthermore, the main advantage of thermoplastic resin over thermoset resins is that they are tough, better recyclable, and have ability to deliver fast manufacturing process, but due to its high melt viscosity than thermoset the infusion process could leads to improper impregnation.

By Application Area Analysis

Exterior Segment to Hold The Largest Share In The Global Automotive Composites Industry

Based on the application area, the market is segmented into the exterior, interior, structural and power train and others. The exterior type holds the largest share in the global market. Automotive composites are widely used in exterior automotive applications such as headlamps, heat shielding components, and others. Many OEMs are also focusing on indulging composites in their car bodies. For instance, recent development confirms that reinforced thermoplastics could be the next wave BMW’s i3 is the first mass-produced car to have thermoplastic composites in their exterior parts.  

The automotive industry has been using more and more natural composites in the interior parts of the vehicles as the alternative to glass fiber as the light-weighting solution.

REGIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES MARKET ANALYSIS

The automotive composites market size in Asia Pacific stood at USD 2.03 billion in 2018. Asia Pacific is the largest and fastest-growing region in this market owing to highest number of vehicles present in this region especially in the countries like China, India, and Thailand. Moreover, India, Indonesia, Thailand, and China are expected to have highest number of vehicles on road and also India and China have the largest market for four wheelers, which shall further drive the growth of the market. The market in the North America is characterized by substantial government support on energy-saving automotive composites such as natural fiber composites.

Furthermore, considerable awareness among the people in the region is expected to keep the market up and moving for natural composites. The growth opportunities for the european automotive composites market is to be governed by usage of automotive composites which is environment-friendly. Furthermore, various OEMs present in Europe are focusing on the natural composites to support government policies.

The market in Latin America and Middle East & Africa is in the growth stage of the life cycle, thus shall gain market share during the forecast period. As the growth of the automotive industry in these regions are expected to fuel the market. Therefore, the market in these regions will show more attractive growth during the forecast period.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Key Players Are Adopting Merger and Acquisition Growth Strategies to Maintain Their Dominance in this Market

Competitive landscape of this market depicts a consolidated market with the top 10 companies accounting for about 50% of the global market revenue. Major players in the market have invested a considerable amount of resources in research and development of several automotive composites products. A diversified product portfolio, supported by superior operational efficiency, and safe & novel technology development for composites application, are the strategies used by the market leaders for their growth.

Furthermore, small and medium-scale companies have adapted the strategy of mergers and partnerships with larger enterprises to improve their offering portfolio and other related services. This trend is projected to positively impact the global market during the forecast period as the smaller companies can gain a lot from the experience of the market leaders.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED IN AUTOMOTIVE COMPOSITES MARKET:

• Teijin Ltd.


• Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation


• Toray Industries, Inc.


• SGL Carbon


• RTP Company


• Plasan Carbon Composites


• Owens Corning


• Solvay S.A.


• UFP Technologies, Inc.


• BASF SE


• Other Players

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• February 2021 – Teijin Ltd. announced installation of glass fiber sheet molding compound line at the company’s automotive composites business named ‘Benet Automotive s.r.o’. The investment was done to meet growing demand for Teijin’s composite parts from European automotive manufacturers.


• January 2021 – SGL Carbon announced investment of USD 4.5 million at its Arkansas site to expand the production of carbon composites for electric vehicles. The company is engaged in the manufacturing of carbon and glass fiber reinforced products for automotive applications. The new capacity addition will be used to meet growing demand for composite battery enclosures of modern e-car chassis.

REPORT COVERAGE

The automotive composites market report provides a detailed analysis of the market and focuses on key aspects such as leading companies, resin, fiber, and leading applications of the product. Besides this, the report offers insights into the market trends and highlights key industry developments. In addition to the aforementioned factors, the report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the growth of the market over recent years.

Report Scope & Segmentation