Shift by Wire Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Design (Joystick, Lever, Buttons, and Rotary), By Application (Passenger Car, Light Commercial Vehicle, and Heavy Commercial Vehicle), By Propulsion (ICE and Electric), and Regional Forecast, 2025-2032

Shift by wire has emerged as one of the most convenient and effective ways of shifting gears in a vehicle with automatic transmission. Shift by wire is a technology where multiple driving modes, such as Drive, Reverse, Park, Neutral, etc., can be engaged electronically. It completely eliminates the driver’s hustle to deal with the clutch whenever there is a need for gear shifting. It replaces the mechanical linkage between the gear shift lever and gearbox with an electronic interface. Shift by wire system uses electronic control units (ECU), sensors, actuators, and communication systems to augment gear shifting.

With increased automation and the urge to improve fuel efficiency, performance, and safety, the automotive industry is constantly innovating new technologies. Besides being highly advantageous to drivers, Shift by wire gearbox alleviates the need for manual shifting and improves overall driving comfort without compromising performance and efficiency.

The demand for Shift by wire has been witnessing a northward demand because consumers are readily opting for automatic transmission vehicles to avoid the hassle of adjusting gears in heavy traffic and jam-packed roads, achieve greater vehicle fuel economy and garner comfort and convenience while riding. Advancement in autonomous driving technologies and integration of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) is fueling the shift by wire market as features such as lane keep assist, automated parking, and adaptive cruise control command precise and efficient gear shifting.

The growing awareness of environmental concerns is slowly migrating customers to a greener alternative, i.e., Electric vehicles, and the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles may drive the market of Shift by wire due to their compatibility with electric drive trains. As the automobile industry moves towards electrification and automation, it may propel the Shift by wire market to new highs.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Shift by Wire Market

The pandemic introduced a temporary worldwide shutdown in many industry sectors. This temporary shutdown impacted various industries negatively, leading to revenue decline, loss of product sales, slowed production rate, unemployment, and many other severe impacts. This led to an economic downturn as the majority of the manufacturing facilities were suspended or working at half capacity.

It is pretty intuitive that the growth of the Shift by Wire market is directly proportional to the growth of the overall automotive market. As COVID-19 hit the world in early 2020, all the major economies had multiple setbacks due to lockdowns and supply chain bottlenecks. FY-20 was highly dissatisfied when it came to passenger car sales throughout the globe because consumer sentiments and preferences took a massive shift. Consumers started refraining from buying luxury goods.

The closure of production plants and shortage of workforce due to stricter social distancing norms also affected the production of new vehicles. Another issue was regarding the procurement of raw materials. The supply chain tailback affected the companies to procure sufficient raw materials to meet their production needs, and at the same time, the elevated inflation has significantly raised the cost of production.

Key Insights

The report will cover the following key insights:

• Key Industry Developments – Mergers, Acquisitions, and Partnerships.
• Porter's Five Forces Analysis.
• Technological Developments.
• Impact of COVID-19 on the shift by wire market.

Regional Analysis

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The Asia Pacific region is predicted to lead the Shift by wire market over the coming decade. The Shift by wire market is positively correlated with the overall automatic transmission-based automotive industry growth. APAC is witnessing an attractive demand for both passenger and commercial vehicles owing to the increased preference of consumers to own cars and increased penetration of industry and its related services, respectively.

Multiple factors that strengthen our notion of APAC being the leader include the rising populace migrating to the Middle-income bracket, rising disposable income, cheap access to labor, emission reduction regulation, and growing urbanization, among others. Additionally, Asia-Pacific's market growth is optimistic because the region heavily engages in automotive development activities, such as efficient engines to cater to the market and increasing R&D to meet the strict government norms. The region is facing a significant rise in population, leading to higher traffic congestion. This will lead more consumers to adopt Automatic transmission vehicles, further boosting the demand for Shift by wire market.

Key Players Covered

The report includes the profiles of key players such as Ficosa International, Kostal Group, Kongsberg Automotive, GHSP Inc., Kuster Holding, Atsumetic Co. Ltd., Dura Automotive Systems, Sila Group, Tokai Rikka Co. Ltd., Jopp Group, Orscheln Products, and ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

Segmentation

Key Industry Developments

• November 2020 – CTS Corporation acquired U.S. Sensor Systems Inc., a custom-designed sensor provider. The acquisition aims to enhance CTS Corporation sensor technology capabilities, which can be later integrated into shift by wire systems for improved performance and reliability.
• May 2022 – CNX Motion announced that it had developed two new software functions that will provide additional safety layers for drive by wire systems across all levels of driving automation.