Global Automotive Composites Market Will Reach 7,019.7 Mn by 2022

The global automotive composites market was valued at US$3062.7 mln in 2014, which is expected to increase to US$7019.7 mln by 2022 at a CAGR of 8.8%. Asia-Pacific was the largest market for automotive composites in 2014, accounting for 50.8% market share, followed by Europe and North America, with 22.7% and 15.5% market shares respectively. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to account for 52.4% by 2022, as per Persistence Market Research. Under regional segment, the Asia Pacific automotive composites market (the largest market in 2014) revenue increased from US$1543.6 mln in 2012 to US$1825.5 mln in 2014 at a CAGR of 8.7%. Increasing urban population due to rising industrialization, particularly in developing countries such as India and China, is encouraging the establishment of automotive manufacturing facilities in these regions. Increasing automobile production is expected to fuel the overall demand for carbon composites in the near future. In 2014, 16.5 mln vehicles were manufactured in the U.S., compared to 15.6 mln in 2013. This number is expected to increase to 17 mln by the end of 2015. In addition, increasing carbon emissions due to rising number of vehicles over the last few decades is prompting governments worldwide to revamp various aspects in order to adhere to environmental norms and regulations, particularly with emphasis on reduction of carbon emissions from vehicles. Automakers are focused towards using lightweight materials to manufacture external and internal parts of vehicles in order to reduce vehicle weight, and in turn improve fuel efficiency. This is a major factor driving the growth of the automotive composites market. Additionally, consumers are more inclined towards purchasing lightweight and fuel-efficient vehicles due to increasing fuel prices over the last decade. This is influencing automakers to invest in R&D initiatives with regard to lightweight materials to manufacture exterior as well as interior parts of vehicles. Composites with properties such as easy to process, high tensile strength, lightweight, good corrosion resistance and surface tension are ideal for manufacturing lightweight and fuel-efficient vehicles. Asia-Pacific is the largest market for automotive composites. Increasing domestic production of vehicles along with increasing disposable income is driving the growth of the automotive composites market in Asia Pacific. However, one of the major factors contributing to the growth of the automotive composites markets in North America and Europe is stringent CO2 emission norms in these regions. The global automotive composites market is highly consolidated, with the top four players - Toray Industries, Toho Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi, and SGL - accounting for between 70 and 75% market share. Other players operating in the global automotive composites market include Cytec Industries Inc., SAERTEX GmbH & Co. KG, Koninklijke Ten Cate N.V., Johns Manville, Johnson Controls, Inc., Scott Bader Company Ltd., Teijin Limited, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, and UFP Technologies, Inc.