Automotive plastics market worth $46 billion by 2018: report

The global demand for automotive plastics could reach US$46 billion by 2018. according to a new report.

The report, by U.S.-based market research firm MarketsandMarkets, concluded that the use of plastics in the global auto industry will grow more than 13% annually between 2013 and 2018, and from US$21 billion into sales of US$46.1 billion by 2018.

“The global passenger car production is dominated by Asia-Pacific region followed by Europe, North America, and rest of the world,” the report said. “The major players in Asia-Pacific region are Toyota (Japan), Hyundai (South Korea), and Honda (Japan). In Europe the major players are Volkswagen (Germany), Peugeot SA (France), Fiat SPA (Italy), and BMW (Germany). In North America, the report continued, major players are General Motors (U.S.) and Ford (U.S.).”

Since the slowdown in market during 2008 to 2010, the report continued, the passenger car market is now on the path of recovery. However, due to prolonged effect of debt crisis in the European region, the European automotive industry is expected to grow at a sluggish rate. “The global passenger car production is expected to grow from 63.1 million units in 2012 to 94.4 million units by 2018,” the report said. “Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow even higher due to growing demand in the region. Increase in disposable income of individuals is among the major reason.”

Among all the automotive plastics, the report also said, polypropylene leads consumption by 37%, followed by polyurethanes (17.3%), ABS (12.3%), composites (11.5%), HDPE (10.8%), polycarbonates (6.8%), and PMMA (4.4%) due to their easy forming properties and their availability at cheaper price than other materials

For more on the MarketsandMarkets report, click on this link.