The global automotive plastics revenue is expected to grow from $21,617 million in 2012 to $46,112 million by 2018 at an estimated CAGR of 13.4% from 2013 to 2018.
The researchers on light weight plastic materials such as composite materials, reinforced plastics, and polymers have come up with improved material qualities that make them suitable for use in interior, exterior, and under bonnet components of automobiles. The careful selection of these automotive plastics is very important in the industry as it enables designers to improve durability, meet load bearing requirements, and achieve reduction in vehicle weight.
In 2012, Asia-Pacific was leading in the automotive plastics consumption volume by 50.5%, followed by Europe (28%), North America (11.3%), and rest of the world (10.1%). Among these regions polypropylene leads consumption by 37%, followed by polyurethanes (PU) (17.3%), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) (12.3%), composites (11.5%), high density polyethylene (HDPE) (10.8%), polycarbonates (PC) (6.8%), and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) (4.4%), due to their easy forming properties and their availability at cheaper price than other materials.
The automotive plastics are among one of the widely preferred alternatives for light-weighting of automobile as they offer enhanced properties such as superior impact strength, easy mold-ability, improved aesthetics, and reduced weight as compared to conventional automotive components such as High speed steel (HSS) and Aluminum. The increasing demand of passenger cars and the supply to fulfill the same in Asia-Pacific is one of the main drivers for increasing consumption of automotive plastics globally.
The market dynamics of Automotive Plastics Market for Passenger Cars are studied for market insights such as drivers, restraints, and opportunity. The main drivers of automotive plastics utilization are their potential for reducing the weight of automobile and fuel consumption reduction potential by reduction in the weight of the vehicle. The market presents opportunities in new materials such as reinforced composites and PMMA.