Rolling Chassis

Rolling Chassis

The rolling chassis is called chassis coupled with a powertrain, which consists of an engine and drive train. Essentially a rolling chassis is made up of all essential parts of the vehicle without the body. There are several advantages of a rolling chassis, which is preferred by automobile companies. The major advantage is the freedom of customizing that it provides to the automobile companies for their vehicles as per their design over the chassis. Furthermore, with rolling chassis a mega portion of the vehicle is standardized hence mass production of new models becomes fast and also cost-efficient.

The rolling chassis market is expected to grow at a strong CAGR of around 8% during the forecast period owing to the surging demand in the automobile sector. Furthermore, some of the major megatrends such as electrification, autonomy, connectivity, and mobility as a service, are reshaping the automobile industry and fiercely increasing the demand for the new vehicle, further boosting the growth of the rolling chassis. Moreover, economic activity is high globally due to rising income, increased consumption, and high capital expenditure from the government as well as private players, keeping the demand and sales high for both passengers as well as commercial vehicles, and are some of the factors boosting the demand for the rolling chassis market. Furthermore, the rising pace of development in the electro-mobility space is opening up new avenues of innovations and new areas from which demand is coming, and development of rolling chassis for electric vehicles is one such area, and investments are being done in innovation and R&D in this space by the key players. For instance, on September 2020, Benteler and Bosch presented their jointly developed rolling chassis for electric vehicles in Beijing, China.

• Based on chassis types, the market is segmented into backbone chassis, ladder chassis, tubular chassis, monocoque chassis, and others. The monocoque chassis segment is expected to witness significant CAGR growth during the forecast period. The primary factor contributing to this growth is it is the most common type of chassis that is used in modern passenger cars as they are lightweight and strong. Furthermore, the ability to dynamic forces is also very good when a vehicle drives around corners. Moreover, monocoque chassis are very safe because of their single-type construction. Additionally, because these are lightweight chassis it provides good fuel economy to the vehicle as well are also very cost-effective, helping in keeping the vehicle prices within budget.
• Based on the material, the market is segmented into steel, aluminum, magnesium, advanced composite material, carbon fiber, and glass fiber composite. Traditionally, the most common material used for the vehicle chassis is steel which holds a prominent share of the market. The primary reason for steel’s widespread use in chassis construction is the availability of more easily and readily available steel. Moreover, the adoption of steel is high in the chassis industry due to its characteristics such as high thermal, chemical, and mechanical resistance, good manufacturing efficiency, and durability. Furthermore, with the innovations in steel, steel is becoming stronger, lightweight, and stiffer than earlier further boosting the demand. For instance, in January 2023, 3DEO launched 316l austenitic stainless steel in High-Volume Metal 3D Printing. The material exceeds MIM standards, making it an ideal material for medical, automotive, aerospace, and industrial markets.
• Based on vehicle type, the market is segmented into small passenger vehicles, electric vehicles, SUVs, light commercial vehicles, and heavy commercial vehicles. The electric vehicle segment is anticipated to witness significant CAGR growth during the forecast period. The primary reason contributing to this growth for electric vehicles is urbanization where more than 50% of the global population is projected to be living in the cities by the year 2030, where driving distances are much shorter hence making electric vehicles an ideal choice. Moreover, businesses and governments worldwide are aiming at reducing GHG(greenhouse gas) emissions, reducing noise pollution, and increasing efficiency by focusing more on making EVs mainstream where governments are offering tax credits and incentives for those who purchase EVs, making electric vehicles more accessible for the mass adoption, further boosting the demand of the electric vehicles which is also getting reflected in the sales data. For instance, according to the international energy agency(IEA), Consumers spent USD 120 billion on electric car purchases in 2020, a 50% increase from 2019, which breaks down to a 41% increase in sales and a 6% rise in average prices.
• For a better understanding of the market adoption of the rolling chassis, the market is analyzed based on its worldwide presence in the countries such as North America (U.S., Canada, and the Rest of North America), Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Rest of Asia-Pacific), Rest of World. The rolling chassis market in the Asia Pacific region is anticipated to witness significant growth throughout the forecast period. Owing to the rising per capita GDP of the countries in the Asia Pacific hence improving the standard of living and increasing money in the hands of people driving the consumption of the countries, hence driving the demand of the vehicles which is further fueling the growth of the rolling chassis market. Furthermore, the rising demand for electric vehicles in these emerging countries is also creating new market opportunities for the rolling chassis market. For instance, China (from a previous 2020 expiration date) extended its NEV subsidy program through the end of 2022, albeit it has started to reduce basic subsidy amounts by 10%, 20%, and 30% per year. (between 2020 and 2022). Through the end of 2023, it also extended the exemption from purchase taxes for NEVs. Moreover, these emerging countries have very low penetration of four-wheelers as compared to the developed world, and with continuous increases in per capita income, the demand in the automobile sector is poised to rise, giving a large headroom for the growth of the rolling chassis market.
• Some of the major players operating in the market include Schaeffler AG; BENTELER; Robert Bosch GmbH; Continental AG; ZF Friedrichshafen AG; Magna International Inc; AISIN CORPORATION; CIE Automotive; Autokiniton; and AL-KO SE.