Introduction:

Technical textiles are generally recognized to be one of themost dynamic and promising areas for the future of the textile industry forhi-tech and hi-performance applications. In India, it has a large potentialwith a growing market of US$ 4.2 billion in 2004-05 to US$ 8 billion in2007-08. Taking the lead among all the functional applications, TransportTextiles accounts for 25% of the total technical textiles market share. India accounts for 7% out of this with a market share of US$ 353 millions in 2003-04 and isforecasted to reach US$ 579 Million in 2007-08. Transport textiles are widelyused in transportation vehicles and systems including cars, buses, trains,aircrafts and marine vehicles. Amongst all these application areas, automobilesfind extensive use of technical textile in the following product categories:

Carpets, Air filters, Oil filters, Battery separators, Hoodliners, Tyre cord fabric, Hoses & belt reinforcement. The Indian automotiveindustry, in recent years, has flourished like never before. The production and domestic sales of automobiles have been growing strongly. While production increased from 4.8 million units in 2000-01to 8.5 million units in 2004-05 (a CAGR ofover 15%), domestic sales during the same period have gone up from 4.6 millionto 7.9 million units (CAGR 14.2%). The extra-ordinary growth witnessed by theIndian automotive industry is a result of the liberalization steps taken by theIndian Government such as relaxation of the foreign exchange and equityregulations, reduction of tariffs on imports, and refining the bankingpolicies. Other two major factors namely, improvement in the living standardsof the middle class and their increasing disposable incomes are playing anequally important role to bring the Indian Automotive industry to greatheights. Growth of automotive textiles in India is increasing because Indianautomobile industry is having:

• Largest three wheeler market in the world
• Second largest two wheeler market
• Fourth largest passenger vehicle market in the Asia
• Fourth largest tractor market in the world
• Fifth largest commercial vehicle market in the world

Transport textiles refer to the non-apparel constituentsincluding fibers, filaments, yarns and the fabrics. Textiles in automotivesaccount for approximately 2% (15-20 kgs) of the total weight of the car amongall the components used. The demand for enhanced comfort and safety will resultin a significant increase in the use of textile materials. Therefore, in atypical mid-size car, textile usage is predicted to reach 35 kg over the nextfive years. About two third of the transport textiles are for interior trim,i.e. seat cover, carpets and roof and door liners. All the remaining is used toreinforce tyres, hoses, safety belts, airbags and others. (The break up intable 1)

Textile in an Average Modern Car Textile ComponentPercentage as per graph:

World scenario

Textiles are used in cars for wide variety of purposes: to enhance comfort, thermal insulation, design, vehicle safety & more often required acoustic properties. Despite the fact that textiles represents only 3% of the raw material used in motor vehicle compared with 60% steel, 20% plastic, 15% aluminum, etc.

The figure1 above explains the use of technical textiles in different automobile areas:

Automotive Technical Textile: Range of Application

Market for technical textiles for five applications in the automotive industry: airbags, seat belts, carpets, seat upholstery and tyres are mature, sales have been moving forward slowly in recent years boosted by the rapid development of the airbag market. Between 1998 and 2001 shipments grew by about 2% a year in volume to 252,800 tons. Looking ahead, growth between 2001 and 2008 is expected to accelerate to 2.6% a year, and predictions are that the market will be worth US$ 1.18 billion by 2008. Revenues, however, are set to grow by only 1.6% a year as textile suppliers are put under pressure from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers)-the vehicle manufacturers-to reduce prices. Such pressures are intensifying as OEMs cut costs and gain purchasing power through consolidation. Textile makers are also under pressure to use fibers, which have been obtained from recycled materials, to produce textiles, which are themselves easier to recycle, and to supply products, which can make vehicles safer. In addition, they are under pressure to supply lighter weight products in order to aid fuel efficiency. Women are the most demanding customers. They want their cars to offer smart storage solutions, to be easy to get into and out of, to provide good visibility, to require minimal maintenance, and to be easy to park. It is also important for women to have a car, which can be personalized to suit their individual taste and fashion sense.

This provides huge scope for introducing new materials and colors into car interiors -- including woven fabrics, wool, felt, linen and even embroideries. Each seat pad, for example, can have a matching carpet, which may easily be swapped. Nearly 75% of automotive textiles are used for tire cord fabric and seat belts. The remainder goes into helmets for reinforcement air bags, body covers, interior fabrics and insulation felts The important physical properties requirement for cord reinforcement material for tyre are strength, low elongation, low moisture regain, thermal stability, fatigue strength, flexibility and adhesion to rubber. The worldwide consumption of textile fibers in tyres is more than 744 million tons and fiber use share is 57% Kevlar, 4% polyester,19% rayon. The seat belt is an energy-absorbing device designed to keep the load imposed on passenger's body during a crash down to survivable limits. Primarily, it is designed to deliver non-recoverable extension to reduce the deceleration forces, which the body encounters in a crash. Air bags provide protection against head-on-collision. Their use in combination with seat belts has reduced collision deaths and serious injuries by about 30%. In advanced car designs, the seat belt works in coordination with the air bags. It holds the occupants in the correct position to strike the air bag when it is inflated. Recent designs include inflatable seat belts. Polyester, nylon 6.0, nylon 6.6 and viscose act as major fiber materials for the automotive industry. In the case of helmets, glass fibers are primarily used as reinforcement. A part of the interior fabrics and insulation felts used in automobiles are in the form of nonwovens.

Automotive Sensors Market expanding to US$17 billion by 2013

The new Strategy Analytics study, "Automotive Sensor Demand Forecast 2004 to 2013", predicts that the market for automotive sensors will reach US$11.2 billion in 2007, a year-on year growth of 10.7%, showing that planned vehicle safety, performance and feature enhancements will drive demand for automotive sensor shipments to over 3.4 billion units worth US$17.1 billion by 2013.

Light vehicle production is expected to grow at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 3.6% over the period 2005 to 2010. Over the same period, Strategy Analytics expects automotive sensor revenues to grow by 9.8% CAGR, as carmakers respond to tightening environmental, fuel mileage and safety legislation as well as consumer expectations, by introducing electronically controlled innovations for enhanced performance, comfort and convenience.

Textiles in Automobiles India 2007-2008

There is close connection between automobiles and technical textiles. Did you know that 35 per cent of an automobile consists of textiles? And did you know that a car uses 45 sq. m. of textiles for its interiors? Even as the production and sales of automobiles in the country are witnessing unprecedented growth, automotive textiles (part of technical textiles) are doing extremely well. Automobile sales grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent with 11 million units produced in 2006-07, projected to go up to 19 million units by 2010. Textiles find extensive use in product categories such as interior trims, safety devices like seat belts and airbags, carpets, filters, battery separators, hood liners, hoses and belt reinforcement. Globally, the auto textile market is set to touch $1 billion by 2010. As a rapidly growing automobile market, huge opportunities are opening up in India for this category of textile products.

Automobiles Technical Textiles in India

Of the Rs.300, 000 million technical textiles Indian market projected for 2007-08, around 6% is generated from the sale of automotive textiles. Nearly 75% of automotive textiles are used for tire cord fabric and seat belts. The remainder goes into helmets for reinforcement air bags, body covers, interior fabrics and insulation felts.

The automotive tire is intended to protect the rubber tube from mechanical damage. It consists of five main components - the carcass, breaker, tread, sidewalls and bead.

The seat belt is an energy-absorbing device designed to keep the load imposed on passengers body during a crash down to survivable limits. Primarily, it is designed to deliver non-recoverable extension to reduce the deceleration forces, which the body encounters in a crash. Air bags cushion the occupants in an automobile in the event of an accident. They provide protection against head-on-collision. Their use in combination with seat belts has reduced collision deaths and serious injuries by about 30%. In advanced car designs, the seat belt works in coordination with the air bags. It holds the occupants in the correct position to strike the air bag when it is inflated. Recent designs include inflatable seat belts.

Polyester, nylon 6.0, nylon 6.6 and viscose act as major fiber materials for the automotive industry. In the case of helmets, glass fibers are primarily used as reinforcement. A part of the interior fabrics and insulation felts used in automobiles are in the form of nonwovens.

Automotive Technical Textile Consumption May Reach INR 12790 million

According to a concept paper released by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry along with The Synthetic and Art Silk Mills Research Association. The market size in 2003-04 was Rs11410million. The automotive textile consumption in the Indian market is projected to reach Rs12790 million in 2007-08.

India is expected to consume 2075 kilo ton of Mobiltech (of which automotive textiles is a component) by 2009 compared with Western Europes 17580 Kt and Asias 17980 Kt, according to Rigby Associates, Manchester.

All textile components used in automobiles such as upholstery, carpets, seat belts and tyre cords come under automotive textiles, which amount to almost 45 square meter of textile material used in an average car for interior trim. There are 30-40 major players in technical textiles which can be divided into 12 segments. In automobile textiles segment, 20-25 products are there. There is space for five players in the Indian non-woven textiles and there are only two established players. The attempts to make vehicles lighter have resulted in extensive use of fibre composites in the car body. The Indian manufacturers are very limited compared to our clients in other countries, and right now, Most of the needs of the sector, I think, are imported from abroad.

Automobile sales grow at a CAGR of 16 per cent with 11 million units produced in 2006-07, projected to go up to 19 million units by 2010. Globally, the auto textile market is set to touch $1 billion by 2010. As a rapidly growing automobile market, huge opportunities are opening up in India for this category of textile products.

China Automobile Technical Textile 2010

In face of a fast growing automotive industry, the turnover of automotive textiles and upholstery in China is increasing annually by 15% to 20%.

The State Ministry of Communications estimates that the demand of automotive textiles and upholstery would reach 260,000 tons by 2010, for the production of seating, headlining, door panels and more.

Last year, in the automotive sector alone, China utilized about 6.25 million meters of nonwovens fabrics, 1.2 million meters of carpets, and 1.3 million meters of seating materials. The domestic supply was inadequate, meeting only 50%, 10% and 30% of the country's total demand for nonwovens fabrics, carpet and seating materials for auto production respectively. Meanwhile, China imported about US$4 billion of auto textiles and upholstery from abroad.

Automobile Technical Textile in Asia Pacific to Surpass Europe by 2009

Automotive sales growth in the Asia Pacific region will reach 23 million units by 2009, while European sales will be 22.7 million units in Europe. Currently, the Asia Pacific region is home to the world's second- and third-largest light-vehicle1 markets in China and Japan the future sales will be bolstered by continued growth in China, plus expected expansion in India, Southeast Asia and Korea.

In the first half of 2007, light-vehicle sales in the Asia Pacific region reached 9.7 million units, up 7.2% year on year. By the end of 2007, the figure is forecasted to be 19.3 million units, accounting for 28.1% of global demand, while sales in Europe will grow by 3% to 21.6 million units. North America sales are expected to decrease by 0.04% to 19.2 million units, South America sales to increase by 10.6% to 3.4 million units, and sales throughout the rest of the world to grow by 5%.

The anticipated growth in 2007 is primarily due to a projected sales increase of 18% in China. China automotive sales have experienced compounded annual growth of 25% since the country joined the WTO in 2001. Sales in Japan are projected to total 5.4 million units in 2007, a 2.7% decrease since 2006. Sales in India, the region's third-largest market, are expected to reach 1.67 million units in 2007.

By 2014, light-vehicle sales in the Asia Pacific region are projected to reach 31.9 million units, or 36% of the total global light-vehicle market. As the key driver of Asia's growth, China sales are expected to expand at an average of 12% per year between 2007 and 2014, reaching 16.3 million units in that time period, which means China will remain the second largest market in the world behind the US. Japan sales are expected to reach 5.9 million units in 2014, while India sales will reach 3.0 million units.

At the current pace of growth its expected that China will surpass the US as the largest new-vehicle market in the world by 2025.

European Automotive Technical Textile to Rise by 2012

The shift of the sourcing strategy is considered to reduce the costs of labor, assembly of inventory. Besides, vehicle manufacturers today are joining in partnership to develop new technologies with suppliers, which is also a drive for the shift.

Figures being quoted indicate that about 65% of vehicles in Europe are using exhaust systems that are purchased as subsystems or complete systems from suppliers. The market is expected to rise to over 20.5 million units by 2012, from 11.6 million in 2005.

In diesel applications, about 77% of diesel vehicles in Europe are equipped with outsourced complete injection systems. The percentage is expected to rise to 98% by 2012, with a market size of about 10.6 million units. While in gasoline, the market for complete injection systems for gasoline engines is expected to rise by 2009/2010, as gasoline direct injection systems continue to be applied in the industry.

Conclusion:

The very large market of vehicles in Asia & rest of world, availability of raw material, & skilled man power with favorable government policies will drive growth of automotive textiles in the next 5 years in Asia. Cars of the future will not only be safer, but also more aesthetically pleasing and fashionable. One interesting area of potential in this respect is the customization of vehicle interiors, which will, boost the demand of automotive textiles.

References:

• Senior Research Analyst Vijayendra Rao from Frost & Sullivan
• The State Ministry of Communications china.
• J.D. Power and Associates.
• Mark Fitzgerald, Senior Analyst, Automotive Practice at Strategy Analytics
• K 2007, Dsseldorf, Germany, October 24-31
• Reliance Industries Ltd, Raymond, Melba and Supreme Nonwovens and other established players.

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