Automotive Adhesives and Sealants Market Size, Trends [2031]

Report Description

The global automotive adhesives and sealants market size was around USD 7.2 Bn in 2022 and is likely to reach USD 12.4 Bn by 2031, expanding at a CAGR of 6.2% during 2023–2031. The growth of the market is attributed to the rising consumer demand for lightweight and noise-free high-performance vehicles.

Automotive adhesive substances are capable of holding two or more surfaces together in a strong and permanent manner. On the other hand, sealant substances can attach two surfaces to fill the space between them and act as a protective coating or barrier.

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Although the nature of adhesives and sealants matches to some extent, their functions vary based on the purpose of their use in a vehicle. For instance, adhesives are used because of their strong nature. Often adhesives’ purpose is to permanently hold at least two surfaces. Sealants’ strength is comparatively lower and is preferred as a protective barrier and for preventing unnecessary movements of surfaces on which they are applied.

Automotive adhesives and sealants efficiently save costs, reduce vehicles’ weight, and reduce the time required for manufacturing or repairing a vehicle. As the vehicles get old, the aged worn, or damaged parts or surfaces need to be serviced for improving their performance.

Instead of replacing the parts and buying new ones, vehicle adhesives and sealants commonly available in automotive shops can help in satisfactorily fixing the damage. Parts of vehicles be they made of plastic, glass, rubber, wood, or other metals can be significantly fixed with the wide range of vehicle adhesives and sealants available in shops or garages.

Adhesives and sealants also facilitate freedom of designing the vehicles’ interior and exterior parts. Their strong surface holding and protective characteristics enable highly effective bonding of robust and lighter material. The vehicle's overall weight can be reduced by applying advanced adhesives and sealants instead of conventional solutions such as bolts and welding.

The market report finds that the COVID-19 pandemic affected the automotive adhesives and sealants market. The lockdown and slowdown in public activities led to a demand decline. In comparison with pre-COVID-19 pandemic demand, consumption fell above 13% during the pandemic. However, post the wide vaccinations and subsequent opening of economic activities enable a positive market recovery.

Automotive Adhesives and Sealants Market Dynamics

Key Trends

The high consumer preference for lightweight vehicles is one of the key trends in the automotive adhesives and sealants market. Conventional bonding items such as bolts, rivets, and welding can be minimized significantly with the use of stronger and permanent adhesives and sealants. The trend of applying specialty adhesives and sealants in reducing the size of electronics and batteries used in electric vehicles is likely to further boost the market growth in the coming years.

Major Drivers

Increasing vehicle customization to fit consumer requirements is likely to drive the market in the coming years. The key players in the industry are focused on providing customers with advanced adhesives solutions that not only enable the best quality customization of interior and exterior vehicle parts but also facilitate an improved driving experience for everyone.

The sealants and adhesives provide flexibility in design to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The bonding properties of adhesives and sealants are capable of cutting weight up to 15% while enabling the strong combination of materials such as aluminum, composites, and magnesium with steel or other materials. The performance, safety, and comfort remain intact with the use of adhesives and sealants for vehicle customizations.

Existing Restraints

The producers of automotive sealants are required to follow strict distribution regulations set by the government and environmental authorities, which are anticipated to restrain the market. The manufacturers are required to ensure that the shipment or distribution is not carried in volatile organic compound emissions control areas. Such environmental standards are likely to limit market growth in the years to come.

Emerging Opportunities

The growing use of adhesives and sealants in the manufacturing of electric vehicles is anticipated to create substantial growth opportunities for the market players. The electric vehicle industry is growing at a significant rate. According to recent estimations and trends, the revenue from sales of EVs is projected to reach above 800 billion USD by 2028.

Adhesives and sealants are reliable and strong, which makes them an ideal solution for manufacturing EV batteries and interior parts. They not only enable strong bonds between metal surfaces but also protect batteries from external damage.

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Scope of Automotive Adhesives and Sealants Market Report

The market report includes an assessment of the market, trends, segments, and regional markets. Overview and dynamics have also been included in the report.

Automotive Adhesives and Sealants Market Segment Insights

Based on product type, the global automotive adhesives and sealants market is divided into acrylic, silicone, styrenic block, epoxy, cyanoacrylate, MMA, polyurethane, VAE/EVA, SMP, and others (polyamide, polysulfide, and rubber). The polyurethane segment accounts for a key market share, owing to its strong blending strength and flexibility in different weather conditions. Polyurethane (PU) adhesives and sealants are tougher, rigid, and durable, which makes them an excellent fit for various bonding operations in the automobile industry. PU adhesives and sealants are highly preferred solutions for vehicles’ exterior as well as interior production and repair applications.

The acrylic segment is likely to expand at a rapid growth rate during the forecast period. The properties such as solid strength and resistance against humid conditions are increasing their demand in the manufacturing and repair of various types of automobiles.

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In terms of technology, the global market is divided into water-borne, hot melt, UV cured adhesives, anaerobic, heat cure, solvent-based, reactive, sealants, and others. The reactive segment is expected to expand at a significant growth rate during the projection period. Reactive adhesives and sealants react with the substrate and moisture present in the air.

The reactive adhesives and sealants are crucial for manufacturing lightweight vehicles as they effectively bond lighter materials. They have greater strength and are have versatile applications. The reactive adhesives are high-quality glue, which makes them an important solution for even surfaces that are considered extremely difficult to glue.

On the basis of application, the global automotive adhesives and sealants market is segregated into under-the-hood, body-in-white, power train, drive trains, product in paint shop, exterior, interior, embedded system, and assembly. The body-in-white (BIW) segment is projected to hold a major share of the market revenue owing to an increasing preference for top-quality and strong-performance adhesions and sealants in BIW applications.

In the BIW stage, the sheet metal parts are bonded together. It is the manufacturing stage where the vehicle’s final contour is finalized using extensive computer simulations before the application of paint. It is one of the most significant stages in automotive manufacturing, as BIW is where a vehicle’s passengers’ safety, crashworthiness, strength, and stiffness are achieved.

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On the basis of vehicle type, the global market is segmented into passenger cars, heavy duty commercial vehicles, medium duty commercial vehicles, aftermarkets, light commercial vehicles, and others. The light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment is expected to register a robust growth rate in the coming years owing to increased production and sales. The use of adhesives and sealants is growing for the manufacturing of LCV, owing to the demand for lightweight and high-performance products.

Global commercial vehicle manufacturing rose to 23.2 million units in 2021. Light commercial vehicles are intended for passengers or goods transport. They are weighed under 3.5 tons. As per the estimations, about 80% of commercial vehicle units produced in 2021, were light commercial vehicles.

In terms of region, the global automotive adhesives and sealants market is divided into Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is anticipated to dominate the global market during the projection period, owing to the growing automotive industry in the region. The emerging economies in the region such as China, India, South Korea, and Japan, among others, are the largest producers of various commercial purpose vehicles.

Additionally, the presence of automotive original equipment manufacturers is significant in the region. As vehicle manufacturing is advancing, the demand for advanced adhesives and sealants is projected to be substantial in the Asia Pacific automotive manufacturing industry. The growing sales of different types of vehicles in the region, with the rising income and improved lifestyle, is expected to further boost the demand for vehicles manufactured with modern methods.

North America is also expected to expand at a rapid growth rate in the global market, with the rising production of lightweight commercial vehicles. Electric vehicle production and sales are growing fast pace in the region, which is expected to support the demand growth for advanced adhesives and sealants solutions.

In the United States alone the revenue from the sales of EVs is projected to reach, above USD 61 billion in 2023. The EV industry in the region is expanding at above 22% compound annual growth rate in the coming years, significantly supporting the growth of the North American automotive adhesives and sealants market.

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