Automotive Rubber-Molded Components Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The automotive rubber-molded component market is anticipated to register a CAGR of about 6.87%, during the forecast period (2020 - 2025).

Key Highlights

• The major players in the automobile industry are looking for various ways to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. The reduced weight of the vehicle not only enhances the fuel efficiency of the vehicle but also reduces the pollutant emission from the exhaust and hence, complying with the stringent government norms and attract more demand. To meet the specific demand from OEMs, the sealing system manufacturers are benchmarking the present technology and the material used to make the new sealing systems, which is aimed to be lighter in weight, highly reliable, safe, and will possess lower production costs than conventional sealants.
• Advances in release agents, nowadays, are making rubber and its components more attractive to auto manufacturers. For hundreds of years, rubber has been used in the automotive industry. Rubber-molded products, which were formerly extracted from natural materials, are now being made from inexpensive and common synthetic polymers, owing to many factors, including weight, environmental, expense, and longevity concerns. These rubber-molded components can be molded into all shapes, sizes, and colors, for different use in the automotive industry. This is a major growth factor for the market studied.
• By utilizing renewable soy oil as a swap for 25% of the petroleum oil utilized in rubber, Ford succeeded in doubling the material's stretchability and diminishing the carbon discharges from its crude materials. The new formula can be utilized in car parts, like seals, gaskets, hoses, radiators, and floor mats. According to the International Rubber Study Group, the automotive sector holds more than 50% of the global rubber consumption, which exceeded 22 million metric ton in 2008. Owing to its benefits and applications in various processes, the use of rubber in car parts is further expected to rise during the forecast period.

Key Market Trends

Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) Segment To Exhibit A Significant Growth Rate During The Forecast Period

Ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) is a type of synthetic rubber which has a lot of characteristics and features, such as weather resistance, vibration resistance, heat resistance, color stabilization, sealing property, tear resistance, durability, tensile strength (500 to 2500 PSI), etc. considered suitable for automotive applications. EPDM has a density of more than 2.00 g/cm3 and is the best for economical use. Lightweight materials like EPDM which lower pollution are a driving factor for the global automotive rubber-molded components market. The automotive industry is the largest customer for EPDM rubber. The need to reduce the vehicle weight to minimize vehicular emission is driving the growth of the market. The rising trend of electric vehicles and new energy vehicles is propelling the demand for EPDM rubber-molded components. EPDM has excellent electrical insulating properties. It has good resistance to ketones, ordinary diluted acids and alkalis, and excellent weather ability. It has excellent low temperature properties -60°F/-51°C and good high temperature resistance up to 350°F/177°C. The EPDM rubber is generally used for making weather seals and stripping, owing to its good adhesive characteristics with metal, wire and cable harness, window spacers, hydraulic brake systems, and seals for doors, windows, and trunks. The market for EPDM is expected to enjoy a healthy growth rate in the Asia-Pacific region, owing to the growth in electrification, stringent emission norms, growing demand for lightweight and commercial vehicles and availability of low-cost labor for automotive rubber component manufacturing in the region.

Asia-Pacific Is Leading The Market

China is one of the major producers of vehicles across the world. In 2019, China produced approximately 28% of the total vehicles in the world. At present, most of the vehicles produced in the country are IC engine vehicles. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the total sales in the country fell by 8.2% in 2019 compared to the previous year. However, China's premium car market maintained stable growth in 2019. The luxury car market is concentrated and is dominated by Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW. The Chinese manufacturers have accelerated the market development for hybrid and electric vehicles after the government's development plan that emphasized the need for new energy vehicles (electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell vehicles) in 2012. The Chinese government's policy on new energy to phase out all petrol and diesel cars. The country announced that by 2025, at least one-fifth of the vehicles on the roads would be electric-battery cars and plug-in hybrid cars. This will impact the market as the rubber molded components will phase out the application in electric vehicles used in IC engines.

The electric vehicle market in Japan has been experiencing growth. The demand for emission-free vehicles has been increasing, and the government has been investing heavily in this electric vehicle market. The Japanese government aims to transform all the new cars, sold in the country, to electric or hybrid vehicles, by 2050. The government has also set a target to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses, by about 80% per vehicle, by 2050. This will impact the market as the rubber molded components have less application in electric vehicles as compared to IC engines.

Competitive Landscape

The automotive rubber molded component market is moderately fragmented one and dominated by various players which include, Continental AG, DANA Holding Corporation, Hutchison SA, Trelleborg AB, Federal-Mogul Corporation, Freudenberg and Co. Kg, among others.

The companies are expanding their business by opening new plants. For instance -

• In March 2019, Hubner Manufacturing Corporation has invested USD 9.6 million to establish a new manufacturing facility in Dunlap, Tennessee.
• In September 2018, Zeon Corporation (Zeon) announced that it will establish a wholly owned subsidiary for the production and sales of acrylic rubber in Thailand. The new plant will be Zeon’s third acrylic rubber plant after its Japanese and US plants. Demand for acrylic rubber is expected to increase in Asia.

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