The automotive seats market is largely dependent on the production of vehicles. The production and sales of vehicles have been on the rise across the world to meet the rising demand from increasing urban population in emerging economies such as China, India and few South-East Asian countries. The growth in production and sales of vehicles both passenger and commercial type is led by China, the largest automotive market in the world fuelled by a decent economic growth rate and increasing external trade.

The automotive seats market is experiencing immense competition

The automotive seating market is a highly consolidated market dominated by major companies such as Adient plc, Lear Corporation, Faurecia and Grupo Antolin. These companies together hold more than two-thirds of the market share across the globe. These groups have aggressively acquired many companies in the last few decades to achieve vertical integration which also enabled these companies to streamline their supply chains and capture major market shares. The market is characterized by tight competition between established companies (tier-1). The top companies have adapted to tightening of the market by undergoing many changes. For example, Johnson Controls has spun off its automotive experience division of which seating was a part and named the newly formed entity as Adient plc shifting its tax jurisdiction to the Republic of Ireland from the United States to increase its cash flows by significantly reducing its tax liability as the tax rate in the United States is greater compared to the tax rate in Ireland. Faurecia, another major player in the automotive segment has divested its automotive exteriors business to completely focus and invest its resources and capital in its automotive interiors business to increase its share in the market.

The high growth in the sales of SUVs and the ongoing trend of vehicle light weighting is driving the automotive seats market

The automotive seats market is directly dependent on the number of vehicles produced. The automotive seats market is being driven by the growth in the production and sales of cross over models and sport utility vehicles (SUV) as these type of vehicles have more seating content than other types of passenger vehicles such as Sedans and Hatchbacks. The growth in the sales of SUVs is majorly led by China the largest automotive market and also the largest automotive manufacturer.

The major trend witnessed by the automotive seats market is weight reduction of the seats. Automakers have been looking for ways to reduce the weight of the vehicle as a part of their efforts to reduce exhaust emissions. The OEMs have been looking for light-weighting almost every part of a vehicle including seats. The manufacturers of automotive seats have made weight reduction of the seats a part of their strategy to increase their market share. The ongoing trend of vehicle light weighting is driving the automotive seats market.

The advancements in the automotive technologies is transforming the automotive seats market

The automotive seats are being tailored for advanced automotive technologies such as autonomous vehicles and electric vehicles and the share of such automobiles is poised to grow as automakers and other tech giants such as have invested in R&D programmes to develop these technologies. The introduction of autonomous vehicles will change the way the passengers are seated as the driver becomes passenger. The automotive interior suppliers have concepts for autonomous vehicles which make the vehicle interior a living space. Further, the growing role of electronics in an automobile will significantly transform the seating of automobiles. The opportunities for the seating manufacturers are immense owing to transformative technologies that are on the anvil and the consequent challenges it will present to the industry in terms of safety and comfort.

Major Players: ADIENT PLC., FAURECIA, LEAR CORPORATION and GRUPO ANTOLIN amongst others

Key developments in the market:

August, 2017: Lear Corporation, a leading supplier of automotive seating, announced plans to set up a new world-class automotive seat manufacturing facility in Michigan. The company will supply seats for General Motors

Reasons to purchase this report:

• Provides latest insights into the Global automotive seating industry.

• Gives a detailed analysis of the competitive landscape in the automotive seats market.

• Analyzes the market scenario with the help of Porter’s Five Forces Analysis.

• Forecasts the market value by assessing the impact of the market drivers and constraints.

• 3 months analyst support, along with the Market Estimate Sheet (in excel).

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