Customisation and safety provide new potential for automotive textiles. The demand for enhanced comfort and safety will result in a significant increase in the use of textile materials. For example, in a typical mid-size car, textile usage is predicted to reach 35 kg over the next five years. In order to keep costs down, automotive suppliers are increasingly standardising invisible parts across a number of vehicles on shared platforms while making it possible to customise the visible parts so that they appeal to the end user's desire for individuality. Textiles are also employed in the instrument panels of some cars. According to market research, women are the most demanding customers because they want everything that men require in terms of performance, prestige and style but they also have additional needs. Women want their cars to offer smart storage solutions, to be easy to get into and out of, to provide good visibility, to require minimal maintenance, and to be easy to park. It is also important for women to have a car which can be personalised to suit their individual taste and fashion sense. What is certain is that the usage of textiles will rise because of demands for added safety alone. Even vehicles made in Asia, which became the leading vehicle-producing region in 2005, are increasingly being equipped with improved seatbelts and frontal airbags and in some cases even with side airbags. This is despite the fact that cars made for Asian regional markets, with the exception of Japan, tend to have far fewer built-in safety features compared with vehicles made for Western markets. Meanwhile, the extent to which safety features are now being adopted in West European cars is illustrated by the European Peugeot 407. Launched in 2004, the vehicle is now being equipped with no less than five airbags.
Automotive textiles market growing thanks to increasing demand for customisation and safety
J.S.N. International ; 3 ; 26-27
2006
2 Seiten
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Englisch
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