Automotive Composites Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Market Overview

The global automotive composites market is anticipated to register a CAGR of over 13% during the forecast period (2020 - 2025).  

• Presently, composite materials, like thermoplastics and reinforced glass, have drawn the attention of carmakers, making them focus on sourcing better, tensile, and lighter components in the manufacture of automobile units.
• Factors such as increasing demand for lightweight material from the automotive industry and growing focus on fuel economy are expected to be major drivers for the market. However, high costs associated with carbon fiber composites, and glass fiber composites is hindering the growth of the market, as their usage in low-cost vehicles could drastically increase the prices of such vehicles.
• The low recyclability of composites is also a restraint for their penetration in entry-level passenger vehicles. However, collaborations of the OEMs with suppliers (due to rising demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, growing lightweight electrical vehicle segment, and major automobile giants, like BMW and Nissan, trying to replace their existing metal parts with composite fibers) imply the scope and booming opportunity that the market is anticipated to offer over the forecast period.

Scope of the Report

The global automotive composites market is segmented by application type (structural assembly, powertrain component, interior, exterior, and other application types), process type (hand layup / manual process, compression molding, injection molding, and continuous process), material type (thermoset polymer, thermoplastic polymer, carbon fiber, and glass fiber), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Rest of the World)

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Key Market Trends

Growing Demand for Lightweight Materials

The automotive industry has been focusing on vehicle weight for decades as vehicle weight have direct impact on driving dynamics and fuel consumption. Due to the high cost of potential lightweight solutions and consumers’ limited willingness to pay for weight reduction in automotive, the use of costly lightweight materials has so far been limited.

As governments from around the world are implementing stringent emission regulations and even are planning to set even higher emissions standards in the coming years, the importance of lightweight materials will increase. 

In a typical automobile, the use of fibers is 50% by volume, while adding just 10% to the weight. In the United States, regulations mandate that by 2025, the average fuel economy standard must meet 54.5 miles per gallon.

• As per the US Department of Energy (DOE), reducing the weight of vehicles by 10% yields an increase of 6-8% in fuel economy.
• As a result, companies have started using materials like carbon fiber and glass fiber composites to make vehicles lightweight and fuel-efficient.

1. The usage of glass fiber composites aids in reducing vehicle by 25%.

Apart from carbon fiber, automobile manufacturers have been using glass fiber composites in the manufacturing of numerous automotive components.

• For instance, 2017 Mini Countryman features an interior panel carrier, uses high flow concentrate long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (LGFPP) material (STAMAX resin) from SABIC. The part is ~15% lighter in weight than if made from solid plastic.

With the demand for lightweight vehicles increasing rapidly in developing economies, the market for carbon fiber composites is projected to grow at a fast pace during the forecast period.

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