Automotive Plastics Market Size, Share, and Trends 2024 to 2033

Automotive Plastics Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2033

The global automotive plastics market size was USD 30.52 billion in 2023, calculated at USD 32.24 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 52.78 billion by 2033, expanding at a CAGR of 5.63% from 2024 to 2033. Automotive plastics can withstand high weather conditions like extreme dry and wet conditions, rapid temperature swings, and intense sunlight and UV rays. They also have excellent chemical and heat resistance and more energy efficiency, which helps the market's growth.

Automotive Plastics Market Key Takeaways

• Asia Pacific dominated the market with the largest revenue share of 47% in 2023.
• Europe is projected to host the fastest-growing market during the forecast period of 2024–2033.
• By product, the polypropylene (PP) segment has held a major revenue share of 33% in 2023.
• By product, the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) segment is projected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 18.02% during the forecast period.
• By process, the injection molding segment has contributed more than 57% of revenue share in 2023.
• By application, the interior furnishing segment has held a largest revenue share of 45% in 2023.
• By application, the electrical components segment will grow at the fastest rate in the market during the forecast period.
• By application, the exterior furnishing segment will grow significantly during the forecast period.
• By vehicle, the passenger cars segment dominated the market in 2023.

Asia Pacific Automotive Plastics Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2033

The Asia Pacific automotive plastics market size was valued at USD 14.34 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach around USD 25.07 billion by 2033 with a CAGR of 5.74% from 2024 to 2033.

Asia Pacific dominated the automotive plastics market in 2023. The increased demand for lightweight vehicles helps to the growth of the market in the region. In passenger car applications, automotive plastics are in high demand due to their lightweight properties. In India, China, and Japan, automotive production is high, and the use of automotive plastics is increasing, which leads to the growth of the market in this region. In India, there is a high demand for polypropylene (PP) types of automotive plastics. These factors help to the growth of the market in Asia Pacific.

• In November 2023, Ayodhya, the temple town in India, partnered with a private company to use and convert plastic waste into automotive fuel.
• In May 2024, China launched anti-dumping probes, a polyacetal resin, a type of plastic used for automobile parts and other items.

Europe is projected to host the fastest-growing automotive plastics market during the forecast period of 2024-2033. The European automotive industries are moving towards the use of automotive plastics-based vehicles. In Europe, polypropylene (PP) type of automotive plastics is highly used. These factors help the region's growth.

Market Overview

The automotive plastics market refers to a wide range of polymer materials used in the automotive industry for various vehicle components and parts. These materials offer many advantages over traditional materials like glass and metal, including lighter weight, improved efficiency, improved design flexibility, and corrosion resistance. The benefits of automotive plastics include delivering more design flexibility for circularity and durability, support for reliable and safe vehicle operation, offering greater styling, improving fuel efficiency, meeting performance goals, cost savings, enhancing design freedom, and reducing weight. These benefits help to the growth of the market.

Automotive Plastics Market Growth Factors

• Automotive plastics offer many benefits over traditional materials such as glass and metals, including corrosion resistance, improved design flexibility, improved fuel efficiency, and lighter weight.
• These automotive plastics are used in the automotive industry for many vehicle components and parts.
• Automotive plastics help deliver more design flexibility for circularity and durability, supporting reliable and safe vehicle operation, improving fuel efficiency, and helping to provide cost savings.
• The application of automotive plastics includes chassis, under the hood, exterior furnishing, interior furnishing, electrical components, and powertrains. These benefits and applications help to grow the automotive plastics market.

Automotive Plastics Market Scope

Automotive Plastics Market Dynamics

Driver

Rising use in the automotive industries

The use of automotive plastics is high in the automotive industry. These are used in the automotive industry because they help to reduce emissions in vehicles, they help to improve fuel efficiency, and have more design flexibility for improving recyclability and durability; automotive plastics are lightweight materials that replace metals and help to reduce vehicle weight. These qualities make automotive plastics ideal for the automotive industry. Expensive metal materials are gradually replaced by automotive plastics in the industry because of their mechanical properties and machinability. These factors help the growth of the automotive plastics market.

Restraint

Disadvantages of automotive plastics

The disadvantages of automotive plastics include recyclability, waste management, and environmental impact. Automotive plastics and composites are used in the automotive industries in heterogeneous ways, and these are difficult to release for recycling. The disposal, production, and consumption of the components of automotive plastics can affect the economic costs. Automotive plastics may affect the economy and the environment. The regulatory, technical, and economic challenges can hamper the growth of the market. Automotive plastics can lead to environmental and health problems. These disadvantages can restrict the growth of the automotive plastics market.

Opportunity

Research and development

Investment in research and development for the various innovative applications of automotive plastics helps the growth of the market. High demand for lightweight and electric vehicles helps to reduce environmental problems and contributes to the growth of the market. In modern cars, automotive plastics are the main component, and when it comes to the disposal of ELVs (end-of-life vehicles), capturing these automotive plastics for recycling and reuse will be an opportunity for the growth of the market. The government should be involved in government regulations to reduce emissions that help the growth of the automotive plastics market.

Product Insights

The polypropylene (PP) segment dominated the automotive plastics market in 2023. Polypropylene (PP) is used as automotive plastics in various industries, such as the automotive industry for many components and parts. These include tires, suspension insulators, soundproof and air filtering systems, headrests, seats, engine covers, battery cases, dashboard components, door panels, interior trims, and bumpers. Automotive plastics like polypropylene (PP) are widely used for cars or other vehicles because of their ability to adopt several plastic fabrication methods and their heat and chemical resistance. Polypropylene (PP) has crystal clearer transparency than polyethylene. It has outstanding mechanical properties and high resistance to freezing, heat, impact, and fatigue. Polypropylene (PP) is hard and may be used for structural and mechanical applications that help the growth of the segment. These factors help the growth of the polypropylene (PP) product type segment and contribute to the growth of the market.

The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) segment is projected to grow at the fastest rate in the automotive plastics market during the forecast period. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is also called vinyl, and it is a versatile and economical thermoplastic polymer that is highly used in the construction and building industry. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used in the automobile industry and plays the main role in helping to make modern automobiles of high quality, safe, and cost-effective. It helps to reduce their effect on the environment. Polyvinyl chlorides (PVC) are also used for a high range of auto parts, including blow molding, compression molding, injection molding, and extrusion processes that help the growth of the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) product type segment and contribute to the growth of the automotive plastics market.

Process Insights

The injection molding segment dominated the automotive plastics automotive plastics market in 2023. Automotive plastics are commonly used in injection molding. In the automotive industry, the most common type of injection molding is thermoplastic injection molding, which makes use of materials like ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), nylon, and polypropylene for the manufacturing of automobile parts. Other injection molding materials are used in automotive parts, including polyurethane (PE), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyamide (PA), etc. The injection molding process is beneficial for automotive plastic parts production because of their repeatability, material availability, high surface finish quality, color options, fast prototype with rapid tooling, etc., properties. These factors help to the growth of the injection molding process type segment and contribute to the growth of the market.

Application Insights

The interior furnishing segment dominated the automotive plastics market in 2023. Automotive plastics are used for interior furnishing. In the car interiors, different types of plastics are used, including polyurethane (PU), polycarbonate (PC), polyethylene (PE), polystyrene (PS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These automotive plastics are used in car interior furnishings like instrumental panels, trims, and bumpers. Automotive plastics are commonly used for steering wheels, armrests, headrests, and car seats because of their cost-effectiveness, lightweight, and durability properties. These factors help the growth of the interior furnishing application type segment and contribute to the growth of the market.

The electrical components segment will grow at the fastest rate in the automotive plastics market during the forecast period. Automotive plastics may be insulators or electric conductors. It plays a unique role as an alternative to driving trains and batteries. Increasing demand for reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These automotive plastics may reduce weight and help electric vehicles to deliver with greater driving ranges. Electric vehicles emit less heat than internal combustion engine cars. Due to the lighter weight of the components, automotive plastics are used in electrical component applications. These factors help the growth of the electrical components application type segment and contribute to the growth of the automotive plastics market.

The exterior furnishing segment will grow significantly during the forecast period. For exterior furnishing applications, automotive plastics are helpful due to their longevity and durability properties. These automotive plastics have design flexibility, greater styling, and lighter properties. As compared to traditional automotive materials like glass and metals, automotive plastics offer major advantages. For the vehicle exteriors like trims, liftgates, hoods, bumpers, and lights, there are automotive plastics used. These types of automotive plastics are used for the automotive body parts of vehicles. These automotive plastics help to improve safety and to reduce emissions. These benefits help the growth of the exterior furnishing application type segment and contribute to the growth of the growth of the automotive plastics market.

Vehicle Insights

The passenger cars segment dominated the automotive plastics market in 2023. In the passenger cars vehicle type automotive plastics are used. The passenger cars' vehicles include internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles and electric vehicles. Electric vehicles include battery electric vehicles (BEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). Automotive plastics are used in vehicles because of their performance, fuel efficiency, increased safety, low cost, high chemical resistance, and lightweight properties. These automotive plastics help to replace metals and provide more design flexibility to improve recyclability and durability. These factors help to the growth of the passenger cars vehicle type segment and contribute to the growth of the market.

Automotive Plastics Market Companies

• AkzoNobel N.V.
• Adient plc
• Borealis AG
• BASF SE
• Dow Inc
• Covestro AG
• TEIJIN Limited
• Royal DSM N.V.
• Quadrant AG
• Owens Corning
• Lear Corporation
• Grupo Antolin
• Hanwha Azdel Inc
• SABIC
• Momentive Performance Materials, Inc.
• Evonik Industries AG
• Magna International, Inc
• Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)

Recent Developments

• In December 2023, a new recycled ocean plastic or resin made from recovered maritime plastics for automotive applications was launched by LyondellBesell.
• In January 2024, Sonichem launched a project to transform the automotive industry with bio-based plastics. These are used in the production of composites, resins, and plastics.
• In February 2024, a new multi-substrate primer for the plastic automotive exterior was launched by the AkzoNobel. A new 2k solvent-borne primer in conductive and dark grey for automotive OEM exterior plastic parts was developed by AkzoNobel.
• In February 2024, a new range of recycling content thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) products was launched by the KRAIBURG TPE for the automotive series.

Segments Covered in the Report

By Product

• Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS)
• Polypropylene (PP)
  • PP LGF 20
  • PP LGF 30
  • PP LGF 40
  • Others
• Polyurethane (PU)
• Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
  • Rigid PVC
  • Flexible PVC
• Polyethylene (PE)
  • High-density Polyethylene (HDPE)
  • Other PE Grades
• Polybutylene Terephthalate (PBT)
• Polycarbonate (PC)
• Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA)
• Polyamide (Nylon 6, Nylon 66)
• Others

By Process

• Injection Molding
• Blow Molding
• Thermoforming
• Others

By Application

• Powertrains
• Electrical Components
• Interior Furnishing
  • IMD or IML
  • Others
• Exterior Furnishing
• Under the Hood
• Chassis

By Vehicle

• Passenger Cars
  • Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Vehicles
  • Electric Vehicles
    • Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV)
    • Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV)
    • Fuel cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV)
• Light Commercial Vehicles
• Medium & heavy Commercial Vehicles

By Geography

• North America
• Asia Pacific
• Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa