Automotive airbag market

Airbag is a safety device used in vehicles. Airbag is a flexible fabric bag, which is designed to protect driver and other passengers in a car in case of a crash or an accident. When a collision is detected, airbag inflates in few milliseconds and forms a barrier between the driver, the steering wheel, front glass, and other parts of the vehicle. Thus, it can protect passengers from severe injuries.

Rising number of road accidents is major factor, boosting growth of the market

Increasing number of road accidents and rising safety concerns are major factors expected to drive growth of the global automotive airbag marker over the forecast period. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in January 2018, around 1.3 million road accidents occur every year globally, of which, about 93% road traffic death occurs in emerging economies. Therefore, governments of various countries are implementing stringent standards and regulations for safety to reduce fatalities and limit injuries due to accidents, by mandating installation of airbags in vehicles. For instance, from October 2017, in India, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has made airbags mandatory, in all new car models and for clearance of frontal and side crash tests along with pedestrian protection tests. These factors are expected to propel demand for automotive airbags over the forecast period.

However, airbags inflate only once and therefore, after initial collision, it becomes ineffective to protect passengers from further impact. Furthermore, these are relatively expensive, hence installation of airbag every time it becomes ineffective, is not affordable. These factors are expected to hinder growth of the market.

Automotive Airbag Market Taxonomy

On the basis of product type, the global automotive airbag market is segmented into:

• Front Airbag
• Side Airbag
• Curtain Airbag
• Knee Airbag

On the basis of fiber, the global automotive airbag market is segmented into:

• Nylon
• Polyester

On the basis of coating, the global automotive airbag market is segmented into:

• Neoprene Coating
• Silicone Coating
• Non-Coated

On the basis of component, the global automotive airbag market is segmented into:

• Air Bag Module
• Crash Sensors
• Monitoring Unit
• Others

On the basis of vehicle type, the global automotive airbag market is segmented into:

• Passenger Cars
• Commercial Vehicles

Automotive Airbag Market: Regional Insights

The global automotive airbag market is segmented on the basis of regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East, and Africa. North America accounted for largest share in the global automotive airbag market in 2016. This growth is attributed to implementation of stringent regulation by governments for passenger safety. For instance, The US Highway Safety Act of 1991 mandates use of airbags and ABS features in all passenger cars. The United States New Car Assessment Program (US NCAP) rates vehicles for safety in order to improve safety features in the vehicles and passenger safety. This is expected to in turn, increase installation of safety features such as airbags in vehicles, which propel growth of the automotive airbags systems market.

Automotive Airbag Market: Competitive Background

Major players operating in the global automotive airbag market are Autoliv, Inc., Robert Bosch GMBH, Continental AG, Delphi Automotive PLC, Denso Corporation, Takata Corporation, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Nihon Plast Co. Ltd., Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd., and Key Safety Systems Inc.

Key Developments:

• In August 2019, Honda partnered with Autoliv Inc. to develop the next generation passenger-side airbags. The new generation airbags will lower the probability of injury by securing the passenger's head.
• In May 2019, ZF Friedrichshafen acquired 90% shares of Simi Reality Motion Systems GmbH. The acquisition will help ZF in the development of systems for occupant recognition using the Simi Reality Motion System’s expertise in the recording and analysis of human movement.
• In July 2019, ZF Friedrichshafen launched new pre-crash-triggered occupant protection system which uses external side airbags. This new state of art technology is expected to reduce probability of occupant injury for side collision by 30 to 40%.
• In April 2018, Joyson Electronic Corporation and PAG, a private equity firm funded Key Safety Systems (KSS) to acquire Takata corporation a leading airbag manufacturer. With this acquisition, the new combined company will be called as Joyson Safety System.
• In January 2019, Continental AG expanded its manufacturing facility in Bangalore to manufacture airbag control units (ACUs). These ACUs are developed on a modular safety platform called SPEED (Safety Platform for Efficient & Economical Design).