A new study from Stratview Research shows that the automotive fluoropolymers market will reach a value of $1.4 billion by 2024.
Rising global temperature, changing customer requirements, introduction of stringent government regulations regarding safety and emission reductions and rising traffic congestion are some of the factors that are compelling all the industries to build more sustainable business environments. The impact of these factors has been the most on the automotive industry, with this decade being the most disruptive one with several megatrends collectively transforming the industry. Among many megatrends, the most noticeable ones are autonomous, emission-free mobility, fuel efficiency, sharing and connected vehicles. Today, almost all the major automakers are putting efforts for the development of vehicles addressing most of these trends.
In the development of fuel-efficient vehicles, automakers have been exploring the potential of fluoropolymers in the critical sections of vehicle in order to address the tightening carbon emission standards of government or regulatory authorities regarding fuel efficiency enhancements.
Currently, the automotive industry accounts for merely 15% of the total fluoropolymers consumption in terms of volume; however, the industry is indisputably one of the fastest-growing end-use segments of fluoropolymers, outpacing the average industry growth. It is estimated that this growth momentum is likely to maintain in the foreseen future, assisting the market to reach a value of US$ 1.4 billion by 2024. Increasing global automobile production, increasing requirement of high-temperature-resistant materials because of engine downsizing and increased demand for lightweight materials to address the stringent emission regulations are creating a healthy demand for fluoropolymers in the automotive industry.
Passenger car is expected to remain the largest vehicle type segment of the market over the next five years. The vehicle type is also likely to witness the highest growth during the same period. Large production of cars coupled with high penetration of fluoropolymers has led to the huge dominance of the segment in the market.
Based on the product type, the market is segmented as PTFE, FKM, PVDF, and others. PTFE is likely to remain the most dominant fluoropolymer type consumed in the automotive industry during the forecast period, whereas FKM is likely to witness the highest growth during the same period. FKM is a preferred choice of material in various fuel system applications, such as fuel cap main seal, fuel rail seal, fuel filler hose, fuel pump seal and fuel injector seals.
Based on the system type, fuel system is the major application area of fluoropolymers and is likely to maintain their dominance in the market in years to come, whereas air management system is likely to be the fastest-growing segment of the market during the same period. The key applications of air management system such as turbocharger hose, SCR injector seal, turbocharger hose seal and EGR stem seal are experiencing significant growth, thereby, pushing the growth of the segment.
In terms of region, Asia-Pacific is projected to remain the largest automotive fluoropolymers market during the forecast period in terms of both value and volume. China and India are the growth engines of the Asia-Pacific’s market. North America and Europe, the next two major markets, are likely to generate sizeable growth opportunities in the coming five years.
