Transparency Market Research has released a new market report titled “Automotive Lightweight Materials (Product – Plastics, Rubber, Composites, Metal; Vehicle Type – Passenger Cars, Commercial Vehicles, Heavy Trucks & Busses; Application – Interior, Exterior, Under Bonnet, and Structural) Market – Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2016-2024.” According to the report, the global Automotive Lightweight Materials Market was valued at US$ 149.03 Bn in 2015 and is estimated to reach US$ 301.36 Bn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 8.3% between 2016 and 2024.
Lightweight materials are essential to improve the fuel economy of automobile vehicles while making sure of safety and performance. Use of lightweight materials is nothing but the replacement of conventional materials such as steel & cast iron with lightweight materials such as HSS, AHSS, UHSS, aluminum & magnesium alloys and polymer composites. The use of lightweight materials can significantly improve fuel consumption because it takes less power to accelerate a lighter vehicle. For instance, it is estimated that with a 10% reduction in vehicle weight, a vehicle’s fuel economy can be improved by 6-8%.
Lightweight materials can be classified on the basis of product segment such as: Plastics, metals, rubber and composites. On the basis of application types the market can be segmented as: Interior, exterior, under bonnet and structural. Lightweight materials finds applications in various vehicles as: Passenger cars, commercial vehicles, heavy trucks and busses. Metal segment particularly steel held for more than half of the market share in 2015 in terms of volume. Innate properties of steel such as strength, durability, rigidity, machinability and innovation in various grades of steel such as UHSS, DP, and CP to further reduce the weight of the vehicle, are some of the factors expected to drive metal segment during the forecast period. Aluminum intensive design have been developed by automakers such as Ford and Jaguar and the incorporation of the same had resulted in significant weight reduction. Hence, the innovation in various grades of aluminum alloys and use of multi material concept in vehicle design presents a significant opportunity for lightweight materials market.
Currently, North America leads the global Automotive Lightweight Materials market with over slightly more than 30% of the global production volume. Rapid technology, easy availability of raw material suppliers, presence of various automakers in the region are the few factors favoring the growth of automotive lightweight materials market in the region. In terms of revenue, Asia Pacific presents a significant opportunity for the lightweight materials market due to the factors such as rising purchasing power of people, changing lifestyle, growing automotive industry and increasing need of car ownership and is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period growing at a CAGR of more than 6%.
Key players profiled in the report include Automotive Lightweight Materials market include Key players profiled in the report include Automotive Lightweight Materials market include BASF SE, The Dow Chemical Company, Momentive Performance Materials, LANXESS AG, Lear Corporation, Faurecia S.A., Magna International and others.
