Automotive Bearing Market on the Cusp
The increasing demand for lower vehicle weight is pushing up the requirement for automotive bearings across the world. Bearings that are generally used in automobiles account for a considerable weight and thus, have a major role to play in automobile weight reduction. With the rising focus of automobile manufacturers on reducing the weight of vehicles in order to improve their fuel efficiency, the demand for automotive bearings is shooting up. This is because automakers are increasingly focusing on adopting advanced bearings in vehicles, especially sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and modern cars.
These advanced bearings have higher stiffness and durability and lower weight than the conventionally used bearings, on account of the usage of advanced lightweight materials for manufacturing them. Apart from this, automobile manufacturing organizations are also using improved forging methods and low tolerance techniques for producing vehicles. Besides this, the booming production of automobiles, especially in the developing nations of Asia-Pacific (APAC) such as India, China, Thailand, and Indonesia, is also driving the demand for automotive bearings.
Furthermore, the ballooning sales of passenger cars, owing to the increasing disposable income of people, are also fueling the demand for automotive bearings across the world. This is subsequently causing the expansion of the automotive bearing market, owing to which, the market revenue is expected to surge from $33.4 billion in 2018 to $53.3 billion by 2025. According to the estimates of the market research company, P&S Intelligence, the market will advance at a CAGR of 6.9% from 2019 to 2025.
Ball bearings, plain bearings, and roller bearings are the most widely used types of automotive bearings across the world. Out of these, the demand for ball bearings was found to be higher in 2018. This was because of the high utilization of ball bearings in two-wheelers and passenger cars. However, in the coming years, the demand for these bearings will fall and the sales of roller bearings will surge, because of the mushrooming sales and production of heavy-duty vehicles.
Geographically, the sales of automotive bearings were observed to be the highest in the APAC region, with the region witnessing the sales of over 45% of the automotive bearings sold all over the world. Depending on country-wise analysis, China is predicted to be the largest procurer of automotive bearings in the coming years. This will be because of the increasing demand for vehicles in the country. According to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles, 19,994,081 cars were manufactured in China in 2020. Additionally, the soaring sales of small-sized and low-end bearings will also propel the growth of the automotive bearing market in the country in the coming years.
Hence, it can be said without any hesitation that the sales of automotive bearings will surge sharply throughout the world in the forthcoming years, mainly because of the growing demand for lightweight vehicles, on account of their higher fuel efficiency, and the booming sales and manufacturing of automobiles, especially in the APAC region.