Market Overview

Automotive decorative films or wrap films used for wrapping interior and exterior components of a vehicle were conventionally developed as replacement of painting or of plating. By 2015, major automakers hammered out environmental policies to attain zero-CO2 emission at their production plants. In 2016, the feasibility rose for wrap films to be used in substitution for painting the car. Later on, however, shifting the decorative work from painting/coating (wet process) to wrapping of automobiles (dry process) was degraded from prioritization at automakers, as they started turning their eyes on CASE (Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Service, and Electric) and SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), rather than focusing on the environmental policy by changing the decorative methods.

The automotive interior wrap film market size in the four major areas worldwide, i.e., in North America, Europe, China and Japan, based on the shipment volume at makers, is on the decline, to 12,317 thousand square meters in 2018, 98.7% of the size of the previous year, and is projected to be 11,844 thousand square meters, 96.2% of the preceding year, partly affected by decreased number of automobile production.

Automobile exterior is largely divided into body and parts, both of which are expected to move on to wrap films for decoration instead of painting and plating. The automotive exterior wrap film market in the four major areas worldwide, i.e., in North America, Europe, China and Japan, based on the shipment volume at makers, attained 4,838 thousand square meters in 2018, expected to be 5,084 thousand square meters in 2019. Because of collision avoidance systems (CAS) and smart keys have widely accepted, the emblems and door handles of the vehicle are required to pass through radio waves. This has encouraged the use of metal-like wrap films for wrapping the automobiles, replacing the plating of automobile exterior. With this tendency projected to go on, the market size in 2019 is likely to increase by 5.1%.

Noteworthy Topics

Outlook of Wrapping Rate of Automotive Interior in Major Four Areas Worldwide

The number of automobiles produced worldwide in 2019 is likely to be around 95,000 thousand to 96,000 thousand. Among these, the vehicles produced in emerging countries tend to have sort of naked interior, or have the interior painted or plated if not naked. The automobiles with their interior wrapped with decorative films or leather (either real or synthetic) are those mainly from the four major areas worldwide, i.e., North America, Europe, China or Japan.

The ratio of automobiles with the interior wrapped (not painted or plated) among the entire number of automobiles produced in the major four areas worldwide was estimated to account for 31.8% in 2018, and 32.5% in 2019. As the production of automobiles in North America and Europe has been matured, the rate of the automobiles being wrapped has almost stayed flat. Because the well-sold vehicles have shifted to so-called light cars in Japan, the rate of using films and real materials (real leather, wood, and metal) for decoration has been on the decline, while in China, growth in the number of automobiles produced together with improved trim level of such automobiles led the wrapping rate to increase.

The rate of automobiles with their interior wrapped among the entire number of automobiles produced in the major four areas worldwide is likely to be on the rise, driven by the growth in China, reaching 35.7% by 2022.

Future Outlook

The wrapping technology relates to the designs and exterior of the vehicle. Therefore, it may at first be considered as nothing to do with CASE, which is positioned as high priority to develop at automakers. If the suggestions by the wrap film makers to automakers are made only from the viewpoints of improvement in designs and replacement of painting, then the priority of wrap films at automakers cannot avoid declining.

In fact, the characteristics and performance of wrap films and decorative process methods match the concept of CASE, i.e., Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Service, and Electric: Radio wave penetrability of metal-like wrap films have high affinity with Connected, while high tactile films and overlay molding are connected with Autonomous, protective films relate with Shared & Service in that they prevent scratches in bumpers for shared cars, and PP decorative films that reduce the vehicle weight eventually enable the concept of Electric.

Research Outline