Question:
Describe about New Invention Car Airbag?
A car airbag is an inflatable cushion designed to protect the occupants of the automobile from serious injuries in case of an accident or collisions. Airbags are an important part of a vehicle’s passive safety system and are made of a flexible fabric/rubber cushion that is designed with sensor devices in such a way that it inflates immediately in case of collision. When teamed along with seatbelts, the use of airbags can reduce fatality rates drastically. Front airbags, side airbags and knee airbags are the common airbag products designed in the industry. The working of an airbag can be depicted by the following figure.
Today, airbags are a staple item installed in most cars and hence the market demand has increased significantly. Key players in the global airbag market include companies like Autoliv, Takata, TRW, and Delphi and so on. Autoliv is the global leader in the sixteen billion dollar automobile restraint market with 55% European market share and 25% US market shares. Takata is one of the world’s largest suppliers of complete safety system for vehicles and serve major companies like Honda, GM, Chrysler, Ford, Nissan and Toyota. Delphi produces a complete array of airbag systems with advanced performance characteristics and design features.
This market research was carried out to analyze the airbag manufacturing industry in-depth and identify the key market trends, the key drivers of the market, the market growth rate, challenges to the growth of the market, key vendors and their strengths and weaknesses and the market opportunities and threats faced by them. It is aimed to classify and define the market of automotive airbag in terms of value and volume.
3.1 Research Design
After deciding on the objective, the research process includes the development of a questionnaire to gather the data required to achieve the research objectives. Sampling methods and sizes are then devised before launching the survey and results are gathered, analyzed and concluded to arrive upon the final report.
A self-administered survey including questions on market trends, competition, growth potential, strengths, weakness and opportunities was prepared along with questions on key vendors that satisfy the research objective is prepared. An online survey, delivered by email can be employed to enable speedy collection of data. The questions included:
The sample is carefully chosen among individuals and experts from the industry who would be knowledgeable in the area. Random sampling technique is employed.
A number of individuals with knowledge about the area are targeted with specific questions relating to the research objective. Data obtained from the responses were then analyzed and tabulated to arrive upon a result.
Due to budgetary constraints, legal constraints and lesser time availability, the data obtained may be extremely accurate. Hence, the quality of the results may be imperfect and is limited to the test population.
4.1 Univariate Statistical Analysis
Market Trends
(Source: Automotive Airbag and Seat Belt Market for Passenger Cars – A Global Analysis: by Geography – Trends and Forecasts 2014 – 2019)
The value of the automotive airbag market is projected to grow 23.6 Billion dollars in the next three years with a healthy compound annual growth rate of 9.7%.
The automotive airbag safety system is growing at a significant rate worldwide and especially in the Asia-Pacific and ROW regions due to the increase in purchase power, increased standard of living, good GDP growth, vehicle sales growth and the increased safety regulations by the Government. In established markets like Europe and North America, there is constant growth in the airbag market in line with increasing vehicle sales. The demand for automotive airbags is expected to grow at a significant rate in the near future, especially in the developing BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
(Source: Automotive Airbag and Seat Belt Market for Passenger Cars – A Global Analysis: by Geography – Trends and Forecasts 2014 – 2019)
(Source: Global Air Bag System Market: Key Research Findings 2011)
Installation of side-impact airbags in European vehicles began in 1994 and according to an estimate by Autoliv, nearly eighty percent of the vehicles had an airbag for the occupant in the front seat and around ninety percent with a driver air bag in the following years. In 2004, about seventy percent of the European vehicles had chest protection airbags and around forty percent had side-impact airbag for head protection.
The first and foremost driver of in the airbag market is federal regulation. Secondly, people are becoming more safety conscious and are more aware of the automotive airbag safety system. Development rollover, knee and side airbags, increased sophistication and competitive dynamics are among the important factors driving the growth of the airbag manufacturing industry.
|
Federal regulation |
17% |
|
Public Awareness |
17% |
|
Increase in safety Concerns |
17% |
|
Development of rollover and side impact systems |
17% |
|
Increased Sophistication |
17% |
|
Competitive dynamics |
17% |
Autoliv (Swedish – American) followed by TRW (American), Takata (Japan) and Delphi (UK) were found to be the key vendors in the automotive airbag market. Autoliv, a company established in 1956 is the global leader in seat belt and airbag market and has more that eighty plants in twenty nine vehicle producing companies. They supply safety equipment to almost all major vehicle manufacturers. Companies that supply with the fabric required for manufacturing airbags include Safety Components International, Inc., Milliken and Company, and Berger Safety textiles.
Operational and functional inefficiency is the major challenge to the industry. Another key challenge is the cost cutting strategies for the original equipment manufacturers. For instance, the Takata airbag recall issue. About 7.8 million vehicles by various automobile companies have been recalled. Companies that installed the airbags manufactured by Takata have recalled them because the airbags could deploy explosively causing injury to the occupants or may even be fatal. These issues need to be foreseen and taken care of.
The key strengths of the airbag industry include high growth rate, increased public awareness, and innovation and high entry and exit barriers. The airbag industry has seen high growth since the 1990s and increased the global airbag revenue by billions. The highest growth rate is expected in North America with Europe and Asia following closely behind. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in a measure to ensure safety passed a regulation that all vehicles in the US must pass a side crash test that measures the impact to pelvis, head and thorax since 2009. With globalization, consumers are becoming more concerned about the safety and are more demanding of better safety system in their automobiles.
One of the prime weaknesses is that the airbag industry is highly dependent upon the original equipment manufacturers which make it highly prone to market fluctuations in the automobile industry. The replacement cost of an airbag, once it has deflated is very high. Also, intense rivalry, increasing cost of vehicles due to increased use of airbags and high exit costs are some of the other weaknesses associated with the industry.
The developing countries offer a great opportunity for low cost of manufacturing the airbags. For example, Autoliv, considered the global leader in airbag manufacturing industry has nine manufacturing plants in China. A new segment for producing airbags for two wheeler vehicles also poses a tremendous opportunity in the industry.
Since the entry cost capital investment required for plant and machinery is very high, the threat from potential new entrants is very low. But the competition in this industry is very high. Also, the problem of counterfeit bags is growing concern. According to a report, one in twenty five vehicles in the US have fake airbags. Since the replacement cost for deployed airbags is very high, counterfeit airbag companies are budding which poses a great threat to the industry. Apart from this, technological innovations are improving day by day. Active safety system may overtake the passive airbag safety system.
5.1 Marketing recommendations
Marketing of any product should target the consumer population specific to the product. Today’s public awareness requires extreme caution while marketing goods. Airbags can primarily be marketed keeping highlighting the advantages and the safety features enabled. Strategic marketing planning, budgeting, strategies to market via social media, strategic guidelines, large-scale marketing campaigns, global PR and research and development are required. Effective use of the internet to market via the social media, releasing of e-news and e-letters and so on may be a valid marketing strategy. Working systemically towards building of brand image and creating brand awareness through brochures, leaflets and posters are needed. A highly strategic and selective advertising program can be developed in addition to a targeted sales activity.
It is important to understand the needs of the target market and develop a product satisfying the requirements. The automotive airbag manufacturing is no more confined to the local markets alone. It is necessary to expand the business globally and increase the reach of the product worldwide. Since the airbag industry is highly competitive with lots of key players, it is important to plan a precise and ruthless marketing strategy that meets with precise planning of responsibilities, deadlines and deliverables and make sure everybody involved are clear about the strategy. Constant analyzing of the marketing activities using a tracking and measuring system to determine the effectiveness is important and employment of the learning in future planning of marketing strategies.
The most important component of the airbag industry is the technology. The future research options would involve innovative airbags and product development. The product development can be done in a way that reduces the product cost by lowering the cost of material used, simplifies requirement of logistics and facilitates ease of production. But it must be taken care not to compromise on the quality. The research must be aimed at a product with enhanced quality and user friendliness. Automotive airbag manufacturers are placing airbags in new areas of a vehicle and constantly coming up with innovations to transfer the airbags from being a passive safety feature of the vehicle to being the active part of the safety system. The advantage of the active system is that it would employ sensors and radars that help you avoid crashes in the first place instead of being the ones to support during a collision. Also, airbags can be fitted in more places than ever with inflatable seat-belt options.
References
1. Day, J. (2012). IMS predicts growth in international airbag markets – John Day’s Automotive Electronics. John Day’s Automotive Electronics. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://johndayautomotivelectronics.com/ims-predicts-growth-in-international-airbag-markets/
2. (2011). Global Airbag System Market: Key Research Findings 2011. Yano Research Institute. Tokyo.
3. Kent, R., Funk, J., & Crandall, J. (2003). How Future Trends in Societal Aging, Air Bag Availability, Seat Belt Use, and Fleet Composition Will Affect Serious Injury Risk and Occurrence in the United States. Traffic Injury Prevention, 4(1), 24-32. Doi: 10.1080/15389580309854
4. DURBIN, D. Auto industry acts globally _ except on recalls. Columbus CEO. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://www.columbusceo.com/content/stories/apexchange/2014/12/24/us–global-recalls-expanded.html
5. Segui-Gomez, M. (2000). Driver Airbag Effectiveness by Severity of the Crash. American Journal of Public Health, 90 (10).
6. (2014). Global Automotive Side Airbags Market: 2014-2018. Marketresearch.com. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://www.marketresearch.com/Infiniti-Research-Limited-v2680/Global-Automotive-Side-Airbags-8387810/
7. Mannering, F., & Winston, C. (1995). Automobile Air Bags in the 1990s: Market Failure or Market Efficiency? The Journal of Law and Economics, 38(2), 265. Doi: 10.1086/467332
8. Montoya, R. (2013). The Future of Car Airbags – Edmunds.com. Edmunds. Retrieved 11 February 2015, from https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/the-future-of-car-airbags.html
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