The
Global Automotive Lightweight Materials Market is expected to witness significant growth in the
forecast period owning to its wide spread applications in automotive sector.
Due to stringent rules and regulations pertaining to emissions and pollution
levels, this is expected to further increase and have and a wider application
platform. The growing demand in this market is majorly driven by increase in
the consumption of lightweight materials in the automotive industry. The Global
Automotive market is expected to grow over the forecast period owing to the
growth in the average production of vehicles and sales volume globally per
year. Lightweight materials are characterized by high strength and lighter
weights. Lightweight materials enhance the bettering parameters such as
acceleration and handling. Automakers usually obtain more freedom, flexibility
and ease with the introduction of lightweight materials in the automotive
industry. It enables designers to design vehicles that can be electronically
operated by using batteries which are available at lowers costs and provide
higher performance
Structural
application of these markets are estimated to have the largest growth and a
market share in terms of value. With stringent emission norms, manufacturers in
the automotive industry are required to follow regulations that lead them to
use lightweight materials that indirectly improves efficiency in their
vehicles. Requirements like better fuel efficiency, improved mileage, better
fuel economy, an improved driving experience, better performance of the vehicle
in addition to a greater power in the driving experience ae other factors that
fuel the increase in demand from consumers for lightweight materials. In
addition, use of lightweight materials reduce the weight of the vehicle that
provides enhanced security and better experience. It has also given automotive
designers an opportunity to innovate and create new designs and structures
owing to the property of these materials to be readily and easily be molded
into any desirable shape and size. They therefore provide an added advantage of
innovation to automotive manufacturers.
Original
Equipment manufacturers (OEM) have further contributed to the increased usage
of lightweight materials mainly the carbon filter in automotive vehicles. Metal
like Aluminium is used for manufacturing casing used for transmission,
manufacturing engines and wheels. Some OEMs have begun using aluminum to
manufacture the whole automotive vehicle. However, there are high costs and
funds associated with designing vehicles which can hinder the growth in demand
for vehicles in this industry. Another metal which is a part of lightweight
materials used in the automotive market is magnesium It is used in
manufacturing instrument panels and car beams owing to the property that it is
less dense that steel or aluminum.Composites, is another light weight material
that is growing at an increasing pace owing to its flexible property of
designing in any shape. Glass fiber composites are widely used in the
automotive industry for the same property of being ductile Carbon fiber
composites are expected to grab a larger share as compared to other composites
as they are much lighter with respect o other composites. However, they are
expensive and this can hamper the growth of this lightweight material in the
automotive industry in the forecast period.
Lightweight
materials have a wide spread presence in the aerospace industry. Plastics,
carbon fibers and metals are used to manufacture and design the structural,
interior and exterior parts of a vehicle The fuel consumption of a vehicle is
drastically reduced by making the vehicle as light as possible. If the weight
of a vehicle is reduced by 10% the fuel consumption can be reduced by about 5%
to 7% owing to the reduced effort required to move and accelerate the vehicle.
Lighter the weight of the vehicle, lesser would be the fuel consumption. Asia Pacific is estimated to be the largest
market in automotive lightweight materials industry in terms of volume. Major
contributors of lightweight materials in Asia are China, India and Japan. Due
to a reasonable amount of demand for vehicles, by volume, in these regions,
there are several lightweight manufacturers and suppliers who are readily
available to contribute to the market that can provide them with better
profits.
In
Northern America, it was the U.S that contributed to the largest share in the
automotive light weight materials market. However, developing economies in
Asia- Pacific such as China and India are expected to be the new
revenue-generating areas for the existing market players in the foreseeable
future. Increase in population, growing economies, strict emission rules and
regulations, better awareness about eco-friendly system and advantages of a
better fuel efficient vehicle are the key drivers that have a major effect on
the automotive lightweight materials market in these regions. Key players in
the automotive lightweight materials market industry have been identified to be
Arcelor Mittal S.A. (Luxemburg), Thyssen Krupp AG (Germany), Novelis Inc.
(U.S.), Toray Industries Inc. (Japan) and Bayer AG (Germany). These market
players usually strategize by geographically expanding or by mergers &
acquisitions.
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