Market Trends of Japan Automotive Composites Industry
Growing Demand for Lightweight Materials
The automotive industry has been focusing on vehicle weight for decades, as vehicle weight has a direct impact on driving dynamics and fuel consumption. Due to the high cost of potential lightweight solutions and consumers' limited willingness to pay for weight reduction in automotive, the use of costly lightweight materials has so far been limited.
As governments from around the world are implementing stringent emission regulations and are planning to set even higher emissions standards in the coming years, the importance of lightweight materials will increase. In a typical automobile, the use of fibers is 50% by volume while adding just 10% to the weight.
As per the US Department of Energy (DOE), reducing the weight of vehicles by 10% yields an increase of 6-8% in fuel economy. As a result, companies have started using materials like carbon fiber and glass fiber composites to make vehicles lightweight and fuel-efficient. The usage of glass fiber composites aids in reducing vehicles by 25%.
Apart from carbon fiber, automobile manufacturers have been using glass fiber composites in the manufacturing of numerous automotive components. For instance, Mini Countryman features an interior panel carrier and uses high-flow concentrate long glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene (LGFPP) material (STAMAX resin) from SABIC. The part is 15% lighter in weight than if made from solid plastic. With the demand for lightweight vehicles increasing rapidly in developing economies, the market for carbon fiber composites is projected to grow at a fast pace during the forecast period.
Japan ranks second in the list of car exports. Japan exported more than 3.1 million passenger cars in 2022. Stringent rules and regulations regarding emissions play a huge role in North America and Europe, which has led to an increase in the usage of composites in automobiles to reduce pollution. Passenger cars have the highest share in terms of the usage of composite materials.
The legislative bodies are issuing protocols to include a certain percentage of composite material in automobiles. An increase in fuel efficiency and weight reduction is a major driver that is forcing OEMs to invest in the R&D of composite materials. With corporate average fuel economy requirements increasing and vehicle emission requirements getting stricter in Japan and all over the world, this market is expected to grow during the forecasted period.
Carbon Fiber witnessing major growth
The demand for Carbon fiber is primarily driven by a variety of automotive and truck applications by a long list of advantages, including a high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent corrosion and creep resistance, low maintenance cost, and lightweight.
Manufacturers' increasing use of Carbon fiber composite material to reduce vehicle weight and increase fuel efficiency will boost their sales. All the major premium and electric automakers are increasingly increasing the composite content to address the EU norms regarding carbon emission reduction targets.
Several key players in the market are adopting various growth strategies like partnerships, mergers, and collaborations with major automakers to strengthen their position in the market. For instance,
- In November 2021, SGL Carbon announced that it is involved with the production of state-of-the-art glass fiber fabrics and supply of finished leaf spring components for Ford's F-150 pickup model.
With the abovementioned development across the country, the market is witnessing major growth during the forecast period.
