The global automotive plastics market was valued at $27909 million in 2018 & is estimated to generate net revenue of approximately $64164 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 9.78%. The global automotive plastics market comprise of all types of plastic materials used in automobiles. Right from screw-on attachments used in furnishings to the more cost-intensive body parts made of plastic; these materials have made huge headways into the automotive industry.

Different types and grades of plastics are segmented by their quality and performance including appearance, resistance, rigidity, cost, and weight. For instance, polypropylene is used in wheel covers, dashboards, and some engine parts; polyurethane is deployed in the seat foams, polyethene is used in carpets and polyamide are used in parts where it needs to be heat and chemical resistant. Major plastics such as PP, PUR, ABS, and nylon accounts for 70% of the plastics used in a vehicle while composites whereas higher-end plastics account the rest.

Right from screw-on attachments used in furnishings to the more cost-intensive body parts; these materials have made huge headways into the automotive industry. An average car consists of plastics ranging from 5.8% to 10% depending on performance requirements and fuel efficiency standards, with consumption in vehicular components accounting for approximately 105 kg in weight. This percentage is expected to increase in future owing to the growing requirement from consumers for light-weight, fuel efficient and high-performance vehicles.

Apart from reducing vehicular weight, these compounds are also used to improve aesthetics, reduce noise, vibrations, and cabin insulation. The high cost of raw material required to manufacture automotive plastics and massive investments required are expected to pose challenges for the global industry. Most common products are derived from petrochemicals, a downstream of crude oil and thus their supply is dependent to an extent on the supply of crude oil. Their non-degradable nature is expected to remain a hindrance to the industry growth as it poses issues in terms of dispersibility and recyclability.

The following factors primarily drive the global automotive plastics market:

Strict carbon emission rules & regulations due to environmental concerns

Rising demand for lightweight vehicles

Increasing demand for sunroofs in cars

Improvement in the recycling process

Abundant raw material availability in the Middle East countries

Growth in automotive sales

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One of the important drivers is the rising demand for lightweight vehicles. Lightweight materials contribute to the target of achieving energy efficiency in automobiles. Reduction in mass can facilitate the performance of the car’s constant acceleration due to its dependency on power to weight ratio. Thus, a decrease in the weight facilitates downsizing the power train and also saves additional weight. Also, it was observed in the study, that maintaining constant breaking power, the light weight of the vehicle helps in shortening the breaking distance. Moreover, reduction in the body mass of the vehicle helps in lowering the center of gravity that improves the car’s stability and also reduces the risk of roll-over.

The automotive plastics market is segmented on the basis of application where they are further classified into powertrain, electrical components, interior furnishings, exterior furnishings, under the hood components and chassis. Interior furnishings is the highest contributing segment with a 33.55% share. Automotive plastics are widely utilized in interior furnishings in automobiles including body & light panels, seat covers, steering wheels, and fascia systems. Numerous other interior components such as seat bases, load floors, headliners, and rear package shelves are being constructed entirely from high-performance plastics such as GMT & ABS composites, instead of conventional rubber, metal and other parts.

Volatility in raw materials prices and growing raw material prices are the major factors hindering the automotive plastics market. All synthetic polymer resins are produced from crude oil and natural gas. Crude oil is one commodity which is considered to be highly volatile in its pricing nature, and this volatility can further be seen in its downstream derivatives.

The global automotive plastics market segments include product, application, and region.

Products are segmented into:

ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)

PP (Polypropylene)

PU (Polyurethane)

PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

PE (Polyethylene)

PC (Polycarbonate)

PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate)

PA (Polyamides)

Other Products

Application is segmented into:

Powertrain

Electrical Components

Interior Furnishings

Exterior Furnishings

Under The Hood Components

Chassis

Geographically, the global automotive plastics market has been segmented on the basis of four major regions, which includes:

The Asia Pacific region was the highest contributor to the global market. The countries considered in the Asia Pacific region are China, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and RoAPAC.

Asia-Pacific automotive plastics market is expected to be on rising trend due to fuel efficiency, strict government standards on carbon emission, and weight of the vehicle. Also, the growing production of vehicles along with the increasing adoption of lightweight materials in the automotive industry is also expected to boost the growth of automotive plastics market in Asia-Pacific during the forecast period.

The major market players of the global automotive plastics market are:

BASF SE

Evonik Industries

Dow Chemical Company

Royal DSM

AkzoNobel CV

Johnson Controls

Magna International

Owens Corning Corporation

Lear Corporation

Company Profiles covers analysis of important players. These companies are using organic and inorganic strategies for growth. For instance, in March 2018, BASF SE entered into a partnership with Farsoon, to launch the new PA6 material solution, for the 3D printing industry in China. This high-performance material will create new possibilities for a variety of industries, including in the aerospace, automotive and consumer industry.

Key Findings of the global automotive plastics market.