The automotive drive shaft market is expected to register a CAGR of over 6.5%, during the forecast period, 2020 - 2025.

  • Growing concern for fuel efficiency and stringent norms posed by the international emission control authorities have urged the manufacturers to develop lightweight drive shafts, without compromising on their performance and rigidness. Composite drive shafts, which are the new entrants in the global market, boast incredibly high torque and safety standards.
  • The growing production and sales of all-wheel drive (AWD) vehicles have been one of the major drivers for the market growth, as the vehicles are equipped with two drive shafts. About one-third of the vehicles sold have been AWD vehicles over the past two years (2017-2018).
  • Hollow drive shafts are anticipated to capture the global market, due to their flexibility and improvised performance over the conventional and heavy solid type. Their design is robust enough to sustain varying torques received from the engine and are classified into two types based on the position of transmission – front and rear end.
  • The intensity of competition in the market is high as major players continue to expand and maintain their customer relationship for longer periods.



Key Market Trends

Hollow Shafts to Witness Faster Growth

The quest for weight reduction in the automotive industry has been a major driver for the automotive hollow driveshaft industry, which allows the automakers shed a major portion of the overall weight of the vehicle. A majority of the passenger cars had used hollow shaft as a drive shaft, because of the advantages offered by these shafts, when compared to solid drive shafts. The hollow drive shafts of mass equal to that of a solid drive shaft performed without coming across a failure. The hollow drive shafts showed a superior torsional resistance, which made them an obvious choice over the solid drive shafts. Earlier, most of the vehicles have been equipped with hollow drive shafts made of steel;

However, the advent of metallurgical technology has given many alternative options to the automakers, to manufacture a propeller shaft. New and exotic materials, such as carbon fiber, aluminum, chromoly, among others, offer better performance characteristics over the conventional steel drive shafts. Furthermore, with the emission regulations becoming tougher for every generation, the automakers are on the run to drop any extra weight off the vehicle. The use of the aforementioned materials is expected to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle, thereby, reducing emissions from the vehicles.

However, the solid drive shafts offer superior performance over the hollow drive shafts in long-wheelbase vehicles, as the hollow shafts have lower resistance for buckling, when compared to solid shafts. The usage of two-piece hollow drive shafts for the long-wheelbase vehicle purpose compensates for the performance drawback, thereby, making them a viable option for the automakers.

Growing Sales of Electric Vehicles Driving the Market

At the global level, the sales of electric vehicles have been growing positively over the past three years (2016-2018). During the forecast period, regions, like Asia-pacific, Europe, and North America continue to see stronger demand for electric vehicles, owing to the plans of launching more electric vehicle models by automakers in the coming years. For instance:

Ford is planning to launch an electric variant of its best-selling F-150 pickup truck. Rivian, Workhorse, Bollinger, Tesla, and Atlis are also planning to introduce electric pickup trucks by 2020 or 2021.

Additionally, Navistar and Daimler have delivered prototype trucks to a few transport companies in the United States, and are expected to start mass production by 2021. Volvo, Tesla, and Nikola are also expected to introduce class-8 electric trucks by 2020.

All these aforementioned trends are likely to drive the demand for lightweight and high-performance drive shaft, as they are indispensable auto parts for conventional IC engine vehicles, as well as hybrid and electric vehicles.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the major players, like GKN plc (Melrose Industries PLC), JTEKT Corporation, Dana Incorporated, Hyundai Wia Corporation, and Nexteer Automotive Group Ltd., have captured significant shares in the market.

The competition in the market is high as major players continue to crack high orders from major OEMs. For instance, in August 2018, Dana Incorporated announced 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 and latest generation Sprinter van.

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