Future Exploration of Vehicle Plastics

According to a research report released by Frost Sullivan, the global plastics market for passenger cars will pick up in 2010. For plastics companies that are brave enough to develop new materials, they will find opportunities for development in the fierce market competition.

Rapid increase in the use of plastic parts In recent years, the use of automotive plastic parts has grown rapidly. According to Frost & Sullivan statistics, from the global average in 2008, the quality of automotive plastic parts only accounted for 11% of the total vehicle quality. It is expected that the proportion of plastic parts in the overall vehicle quality will gradually increase from 2009 to 2012.

Passenger cars are generally classified into basic passenger cars (sedans), multi-purpose passenger cars (MPVs), sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and crossover passenger cars (Crossovers). Plastic parts used in passenger vehicles include PP, PU, ​​PA, ABS, PC, PBT, PPO, thermosetting composite plastics, and other high performance composite plastics.

The amount of plastic parts for passenger cars is closely related to the level of economic development and awareness of environmental protection in the local market. As developed countries such as Europe and the United States place more emphasis on environmental protection, the proportion of plastic parts used in automobile vehicles is higher, while in India, China and other developing countries, the automotive market is still in its infancy, and the scale of automotive plastics market will be further in the next few years. expand.

According to Frost & Sullivan's report, the development trend of the global automotive plastics market in the next few years is that products will be further subdivided according to the individual needs of customers; manufacturers will continue to develop new products and expand new markets; the efficiency of supply chain management Continuously improve, there is a sustainable production model; products develop in the direction of multi-functionality, and materials are safer, more energy-efficient, and more environmentally friendly.

The lightening of the car is the biggest driving force to reduce the quality of the entire vehicle and improve the fuel efficiency of the car. It is the biggest driving force for the application of automotive plastic parts. Over the past 10 years, airbags, in-vehicle entertainment systems, and air conditioners have gradually become standard on most passenger cars. However, their addition also increases the overall vehicle quality, which in turn increases the fuel consumption of the vehicle. Forced by the pressure of energy conservation and emission reduction, driven by increasingly stringent environmental regulations, automakers in Europe and the United States have had to make fuel efficiency an important task.

The use of automotive plastic parts can reduce the amount of steel used, as well as reduce the weight of the entire vehicle, thereby achieving the purpose of reducing fuel consumption. Therefore, it is expected that the amount of vehicle plastics will be further increased in the next few years. The appearance of new cars and the application of new technologies will have a profound impact on the development of automotive plastics. In recent years, with the advent of new models such as electric vehicles (main technical parameters and equipment for electric police vehicles) and hybrid vehicles, the automobile manufacturing industry has put forward new requirements for interior and exterior parts and engine parts suppliers. The development of new plastic components that can control the weight of vehicles, reduce fuel consumption, and maintain a certain strength has become one of the urgent tasks of material suppliers.

For plastic parts suppliers, the demand for automotive plastics will continue to grow. However, due to the low recovery rate of automotive plastic parts at this stage, suppliers must also strive to improve plastic parts in order to meet the stringent environmental protection requirements of developed countries such as Europe and the United States. The recovery rate.

Emerging market opportunities are mostly affected by the credit crunch and the economic downturn, and the demand for the global passenger car market has dropped sharply. On the one hand, the vehicle manufacturing company defaulted on the payment of parts and components for plastic parts suppliers. On the other hand, the business volume of plastic parts suppliers decreased significantly. However, the report shows that this market will pick up in 2010, and the speed of recovery will depend on the speed of automobile production recovery.

Although the automotive market in the United States, Europe and other western developed countries and regions is still at a low point, but in Asia, especially China, India and other countries, the passenger car market has achieved more positive growth. Taking China as an example, as the per capita purchasing power of consumers increases and the government promulgates a half-preferential policy for small-displacement purchase tax, the production and sales volume of the passenger vehicle market has increased substantially in 2009. In the long term, the recovery of the global automotive industry will depend more on the growth of the passenger vehicle market from China, Brazil, Russia and India, as well as the promotion and application of new models such as hybrid and electric vehicles.

In 2008, passenger vehicle production in the four countries in China, Pakistan, Russia, and India was growing at a rate of 5.8 while the global passenger vehicle production was down 4.1% year-on-year. It is estimated that by 2010, the production of passenger cars in the above four countries will account for nearly a quarter of global production. In order to ease the shrinking demand in the western market, vehicle component suppliers are bound to adopt strategies to actively expand their business in the four countries mentioned above.

Frost & Sullivan expects that by 2015, the global electric vehicle population will reach 1.2 million. As the development of electric vehicles receives government support, it will have more advantages in trials of new materials, and its design will reduce the replay of vehicles. In the first place, plastic parts suppliers are expected to find new growth points in this emerging market.