The airbag/restraint industry is in a continuous process of balancing the market requirements, the economical needs and technology changes. Due to confidentiality reasons and since analysis of trends relay also on unpredictable parameters the statements cannot always be as precise as desired. According to market studies of acknowledged institutes the pace of growth of the light vehicle production will change drastically from NAFTA and Western Europe to Latin America and Asia. The consolidation process is not completed and could probably lead to a further cut down to 5 - 10 OEMs in 2010. To cover all customer needs more and more niche vehicles are and will be introduced, so product differentiation is resulting in more market fragmentation. A similar consolidation reaction on the supplier level as by OEM was started. Simultaneously to the consolidation process in the car industry as well as in the automotive supplier branch a remarkable structural change happened in the past ten years in the airbag industry. Vertical integration for special technology is fundamental for airbag system suppliers to gain the necessary profit level for pre-development work expected by OEMs. The final results of the market analysis is an expected low growth in the seat-belt area, low to middle in the front gabs and middle to high potentials in the side bag area. Further growth potential is forecasted in the interaction and integration with active vehicle safety. Through this the number of electronic components and functions will increase dramatically, consequently requesting different core competencies compared with the ones actually available in the Airbag Industry.
Airbag industry - Quo vadis? The industry's structural changes: Balancing globalisation, economy and technology
Die Strukturänderungen in der Airbag-Industrie: Globalisierung, Wirtschaft und Technologie
16 Seiten, 22 Bilder
Conference paper
English
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