Automotive Airbag Inflator Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Automotive Airbag Inflator Market - Growth, Trends, Covid-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Global Automotive Airbag Inflator market is valued at USD 14.21 Billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 18.28 Billion by 2027 registering a CAGR of 3.76%, during the forecast period, (2022-2027).

During the outbreak of pandemic COVID-19, the market was hit adversely because of the disruptions caused in the supply chain as several major economies of the world were forced into lockdown and economic activities were halted during this period. All the manufacturing units and OEM plants stopped their production to adhere the social distancing norms and restrict the spread of virus. The demand for passenger vehicles also fell drastically during this period. Yet with the gradual opening up of economies the demand returned to the market and markets like China and India witnessed huge demand for passenger cars as the consumer preference changed from public transport to personal vehicles. The trend is expected to continue during the forecast period.

Over the long term, Increasing regulatory requirements regarding vehicle safety and rising awareness about customer safety, globally, are driving the automotive airbag inflator market.

Furthermore, the increase in the penetration of side-impact and curtain airbags, and vehicle production, the introduction of more bags per car, are the major factors that drive the growth of the automotive airbag inflator market.

Key Highlights

• In May 2022, After almost a year spent developing a fix for faulty airbag inflators, General Motors is getting ready to replace faulty airbag inflators in 410,019 trucks that were recalled in July 2021.

However, Asia-Pacific is expected to lead the market by the end of forecast period, because of countries, like India and China are anticipated to record high CAGR in the automotive industry

Automotive Airbag Inflator Market TrendsPyrotechnic Inflator to Holds the Highest Market Share

In a pyrotechnic inflator, solid propellant (typically a chemical material - sodium azide mixed with oxidizers) burns at a controlled rate to produce gas (majorly nitrogen gas). This, in turn, inflates the airbag in less than one-twentieth (1/20) of a second. At the moment of a crash, the deployment of a pyrotechnic inflator airbag is faster, as compared to that of a hybrid inflator airbag. Thus, pyrotechnic inflators have been majorly deployed in the vehicle’s frontal airbags, such as driver airbags, passenger airbags, and side airbags.

With governments around the world making frontal airbags compulsory, Pyrotechnic airbags are expected to see high demand during the forecasted period.

Pyrotechnic inflators have an added advantage of small size and low weight compared to that of hybrid inflators which is attracting OEMs to use them for airbags.

Takata is now responsible for the largest auto recall in history. Takata has already recalled 40 million vehicles across 12 vehicle brands for "Airbags that could explode and potentially send shrapnel into the face and body of both the driver and front seat passenger". One of the major reason was detected to be a flaw in pyrotechnics design which is used in the inflator. In April 2018, Takata was acquired by the fifth largest airbag supplier in United States market, Key Safety Systems (KSS), and renamed as Joyson Safety Systems.

Additionally, the disposal of pyrotechnic inflators have turned out to be toxic due to the presence of sodium azide. Thus, airbag manufacturers have been trying to provide other alternatives to replace the toxic propellant. For instance, Hella has been designing airbags with other azide-free fuels as propellants. They do not just release nitrogen gas, but also CO2 (~20%) and water vapor (~25%).

During the forecast period, the pyrotechnic segment is anticipated to continue to grow, and with technological advancements it is expected to see highest growth rate.

Asia-Pacific to Witness Faster Market Growth

The growth of advanced safety in passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region is mainly attributed to increasing consumers’ preferences for safety and comfort features, increasing penetration of Side and Curtain airbags in mid-level cars, and growing demand for premium and luxury cars. Furthermore, government initiative toward passenger safety and decreasing system and component costs is estimated to fuel the demand for airbag inflators over the forecast period.

China is one of the largest automotive markets across the world, and more than 20.17 million passenger cars were sold in the country in 2020 and recorded a 5.89% of the yearly decline in sales compared to 2019. Despite the pandemic, China is still one of the largest sellers of automobiles globally.

India is an emerging economy where the implementation of advanced safety and driver assistance features in passenger cars is taking place gradually. India has a potential and opportunity for airbag inflator market as India is stepping gradually into the electric, autonomous and artificial intelligence oriented automotive industry along with many new product launches. For instance,

• In 2021, Morris Garage has launched its new SUV Gloster and the facelifted version of the Hector. Both the vehicle models have gained good sales in the market and the top-spec variant of these cars get 6-airbags as standard.
• Mahindra in 2021 has launched the XUV 700. The top-spec variant of the car features 7-airbags and in a recent press release, it was identified that, more than 70% of the bookings for the XUV 700 have been the top-spec trim. The vehicle has received more then 50,000 bookings within the first few months and has more than 78,000 units to delivered to customers.
• Maruti SuzUnited Kingdomi in 2021 has launched the facelifted versions of the Baleno, Ertiga, and the XL6. All the models on the to-spec variants get 4-airbags and 6-airbags as standard.

With increasing demand for safe cars, the market for airbag inflators over the forecast period in Asia-Pacific is expected to grow.

Automotive Airbag Inflator Market Competitive Analysis

The automotive airbag inflator market is fairly consolidated, with the major companies capturing more than 65% of the global market studied.

Some of the prominent players in the market, includes Autoliv Inc., Joyson Safety Systems, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., and Ashimori Industry;Co., Ltd.

• In May 2022, Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, and U.S.-based company ARC Automotive, a global manufacturer that offers a full program of inflation systems for vehicle airbags, announced the formation of a new joint venture for the production of airbag inflators for airbag applications.
• In January 2021, Daicel Corporation will set up an airbag inflator manufacturing plant in Chennai. The company will invest around Rs 230 crore during the phase-I. This will be Daicel Corporation’s first airbag inflator manufacturing plant in India. The company was catering to Indian market from its production site in Thailand and other countries.

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