It is examined the market for technical textiles for five applications in the automotive industry: airbags, seat belts, carpets, seat upholstery and tyres. Although most market segments are mature, sales have been moving forward slowly in recent years, boosted by the rapid development of the airbag market. Between 1998 and 2001 shipments grew by about 2 % a year in volume to 252800 tons. Looking ahead, growth between 2001 and 2008 is expected to accelerate to 2.6 % a year. Revenues, however, are set to grow by only 1.6 % a year as textile suppliers are put under pressure from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), the vehicle manufacturers, to reduce prices. Such pressures are intensifying as OEMs cut costs and gain purchasing power through consolidation. Textile makers are also under pressure to use fibres which have been obtained from recycled materials, to produce textiles which are themselves easier to recycle, and to supply products which can make vehicles safer. In addition, they are under pressure to supply lighter weight products in order to aid fuel efficiency. Technical textile producers and fibre manufacturers have been forced to cut prices and operate at reduced margins in order to remain competitive. Also, they have divested, cut jobs, merged, formed joint ventures or acquired other companies in order to focus on key business areas. In addition, to meet vehicle manufacturers' demands, textile suppliers will need to invest in research and development during a period when margins will continue to remain under pressure.
West European market for technical textiles in automotive applications
Der westeuropäische Markt für technische Textilien für Anwendungen in der Automobilindustrie
Technical Textile Markets ; 52 ; 60-73
2003
14 Seiten, 2 Bilder, 3 Tabellen
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Englisch
Textiles in the automotive interior - new technical requirements
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