Global Automotive drive shaft Market is segmented By Vehicle Type (Heavy Commercial Vehicle, Passenger car, light commercial vehicle), By Material (Alloy, Carbon fibre), and By Region (North America, Europe, South America, Asia Pacific, The Middle East, And Africa) – Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2022-2029.
Automotive Drive Shaft Market Overview
[150 Pages Report] The Global Automotive Drive Shafts Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% during the forecasting period (2022-2029).
The automotive drive shaft is a mechanical part that converts the torque generated by a vehicle’s engine into usable motive force to drive the vehicle. It is used for transferring the torque from the engine to the other end of the vehicle before it reaches the wheels. The body components of the automotive drive shaft are made up of steel, aluminium and carbon fibre.
Automotive Drive Shafts Market Scope
Metrics |
Details |
Market CAGR |
6.5% |
Segments Covered |
By Vehicle Type, By Material, and By Region |
Report Insights Covered |
Competitive Landscape Analysis, Company Profile Analysis, Market Size, Share, Growth, Demand, Recent Developments, Mergers and acquisitions, New Product Launches, Growth Strategies, Revenue Analysis, and Other key insights. |
Fastest Growing Region |
Asia Pacific |
Largest Market Share |
Asia Pacific |
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Automotive Drive Shafts Market Growth and Trends
One of the key market drivers of having an automotive driveshaft is that when bounded in a tube, these driveshaft requires small maintenance and hence offers an extensive healthy operation. It also reduced the overall weight and further offer a comfortable, clean, and quiet ride which is a significant factor in the ongoing consumer requirement as well as governmental customs. Rising consumer preference for the comfortable, smooth, quiet ride will further enhance the automotive drive shaft demand globally.
Hollow shafts to meet the lightweight automotive drive shafts demand
Hollow shaft technologies feature a lightweight tubular design, an optimized cross-section that maximizes strength-to-weight ratio, and superior tuning. It delivers dynamic performance and strength through the lightweight tubular design of the automotive drive shafts. With metal forming expertise, the tubular products primarily offer a thicker wall for very highly stressed areas such as splined and friction-welded areas, which reduces wall thickness for low-stressed areas, and various internal and external features. Thus, the hollow shaft innovations assist automotive OEMs to improve fuel economy and enhancing driving performance.
The hollow driveshafts when compared to solid drive shafts experience a more determined resistance, which makes them an ideal choice. Considering the current trend, most of the vehicles have replaced the solid shafts with hollow driveshafts made of steel. Manufacturers operating in the global automotive drive shaft market are focused on developing lightweight driveshafts while maintaining the performance and rigidity of the drive shafts. For the manufacturing of hollow driveshafts, the filament winding production process is gaining popularity among manufacturers, which raises the manufacturers to focus on developing lightweight automotive drive shafts in the global market throughout the forecast period.
Increase in demand for vehicle production
In 2019, the stringent fuel efficiency protocols in developed, as well as developing markets, have boosted the R&D for better technologies. The product innovation is mainly focused on the development of drivetrain & frame components that minimize power loss and increase the efficiency of the vehicle by transferring more power from the engine to the wheels. With increasing power requirements in heavy-duty applications, shafts with higher stress handling capabilities are being demanded. It reduces the maintenance cost and break or interruption of the vehicles, which improves the efficiency of the commercial vehicles in the terms of operation. Japan is one of the technologically advanced automotive markets where small cars are preferred owing to their fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. It is home to OEMs such as Honda Motor Company, Ltd., Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, and Toyota Motor Corporation, which have successfully established a global footprint with a strategic focus on high-quality and fuel-efficient vehicles. It is also a leader in the usage of carbon fibre in automotive applications, and companies such as Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. The axles and propeller shafts are being developed to handle increased operating stress in sectors such as construction, long haul, and mining to reduce downtime. Therefore, significant advancement in technologies is likely to enhance the overall vehicle performance thus, driving the product demand.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
The automotive axle shaft market includes major Tier I and Tier II suppliers such as ZF, GKN Automotive, Dana Incorporated, Meritor, and Automotive axle & manufacturing. The suppliers have their manufacturing facilities spread across the world. COVID-19 has widely impacted their manufacturing and distribution operations globally due to temporary shutdown regulations and social distancing policies to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread and ensure the worker’s safety. These factors reduced the automotive component demand and supply across the globe. Countries such as the US, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain are highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Vehicle production is expected to resume, in future, although, not at full capacity due to the severity of the pandemic, thus tier 1 player are unsure of a further decline in revenue in the remaining quarters of 2020. As a result, the demand for overall automotive production has declined, which parallel affects the product demand during the forecast period.
Automotive Drive Shafts Market Segment Analysis
Based on vehicle type, the global automotive drive shafts market is segmented into heavy commercial vehicles, passenger cars, and light commercial vehicles.
The passenger car segment leads the automotive drive shaft market
Increasing production and sales of passenger cars in emerging countries like India, China, Indonesia, and South Africa is a major factor driving the product consumption in passenger cars. Automotive drive shafts are used differently in different vehicles. It varies greatly in cars with distinct configurations for the four-wheel drive, and the previously mentioned front-engine rear-wheel drive. Automotive drive shafts are made up of steel, aluminium and carbon fibre.
Aluminium drive shafts are light and sturdy which reduces the overall weight of the vehicle and hence requires less fuel and produce more rotating speed. Steel driveshafts are very heavy which increases the overall weight of the vehicle, thus demands more fuel to run and also requires a lot of horsepowers to transmit torque and rotate. Hence, the passenger car held the dominant share in the market in 2019. The trend is expected to continue in the forthcoming years as well.
Based on material, the automotive drive shaft gas has been classified into alloy and carbon fibre.
Alloy is estimated to grow at a Healthy CAGR
In 2019, the alloy segment held a significant market share in the automotive drive shafts industry. This is mainly attributed to the availability of the majority of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with installed propeller shafts made up of alloys. Due to its excellent properties, such as satisfactory strength, stiffness, and lower cost, it is a preferred material. The shaft joints and couplings handle the service loads, high angles, terrain change, and demand a support structure that further results in increased weight. Hence, the ongoing trend is to shift to design and develop lightweight and cost-effective propeller shafts, thus driving the product demand.
Automotive Drive Shafts Market Geographical Share
Based on geography, the study analyzes the automotive drive shafts market in the global market, including North America, Europe & Cis, Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa.
In 2019, the Asia Pacific market accounted for a significant share of the automotive drive shaft market and is likely to grow at the highest growth rate during the review period followed by North America. China has the largest sales market for the automotive drive shafts market which is followed by India and the US. Increasing population, urbanization, industrialization and growing production of vehicles are the key factors driving the regional market growth. India, China, and Japan are the key contributors. The growth of the region is primarily driven due to the heavy commercial vehicle demand for transportation and logistics.
Automotive Drive Shafts Market Companies
Some of the major consolidated players, such as GKN PLC (Melrose Industries PLC), JTEKT Corporation, Ifa Rotorion - Holding GmbH, Hyundai Wia Corporation, Hyundai Wia Corporation, Trelleborg AB, Nexteer Automotive Group Limited, NKN, and Dana Incorporated, possess significant market shares.
The competition in the market is very high as many players of automotive drive shafts continue to offer high orders from major OEMs (or consolidated players). For instance, in August 2018, Dana Incorporated said that it has been selected by Daimler AG to supply front and rear propeller shafts to the all-new Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup truck.
GKN PLC
GKN Limited produces automotive components and aerospace vehicles. The Company serves the services worldwide. It manufactures and provides driveline systems, vehicle chassis assemblies, sub-assemblies, and power take-off shafts in addition to aircraft transmissions and helicopters. It is a global engineering and manufacturing company motivated to deliver mass-production solutions for mobility.
It is the only major tier 1 supplier completely focused on automotive driveline technologies. The expertise makes the GKN ideal partner for conventional vehicles, all-wheel-drive systems and electrification strategies.
Product Portfolio: The company portfolio comprises the supplies of automotive driveline components to the worldwide IAM and OES markets. It provides the most comprehensive portfolio of CV shafts, joint kits, boot kits and prop shafts.
Why Purchase the Report?
- Visualize the automotive drive shafts market segmentation composition By Material, material, and region, highlighting the critical commercial assets and players.
- Identify commercial opportunities in the automotive drive shafts market by analyzing trends and co-development deals.
- Excel data sheet with thousands of data points of automotive drive shafts market - level 2 segmentation.
- PDF report with the most relevant analysis cogently put together after exhaustive qualitative interviews and in-depth market study.
- Product mapping in excel for the key product of all major market players
The global automotive drive shafts market report would provide access to an approx. 42 market data tables, 39 figures, and 180 pages.
Target Audience
- Service Providers/ Buyers
- Industry Investors/Investment Bankers
- Education & Research Institutes
- Research Professionals
- Emerging Companies
- Manufacturers