This report focuses on production applications for additive manufacturing in the automotive industry spanning from motorsports and luxury cars to mass-produced vehicles. Production AM applications considered in this report include both additive manufacturing for indirect production (for tools, jigs, fixtures, molds and dies) and for the direct digital production of spare, mass-customized and serial final parts. Forecasts focus exclusively on industrial-grade additive manufacturing hardware systems and materials, for end-use part production applications.
This report assesses the overall opportunity for additive manufacturing in the automotive industry, including upcoming metal and polymer processes and materials that are going to gain wider adoption during the 10-year forecast period. These include leading polymer as well as new high-throughput metal and polymer AM technologies such as digital light synthesis from Carbon, multijet fusion from HP, as well as new bound metal filament and upcoming metal binder jetting processes. For the first time, these are listed as separate segments in all hardware forecasts.
The report also provides a deep analysis of the types of tools and final parts produced by AM. These are further broken down into specific applications and part-specific forecasts. AM parts are then also analyzed in terms of suppliers, with forecasts segmented into three main types of AM parts suppliers: large automakers (internal production), specialized automotive parts suppliers (tier 1 and tier 2) that have introduced AM in their workflows, and AM service providers (application-agnostic) catering to the automotive segment.
In addition, for the first time in this edition, the analyst presents an unprecedented country-specific analysis and forecasts of the automotive AM market’s geographic distribution for hardware and materials revenues and demand. From the analysis and data, it emerges that Europe currently holds has a lead in metal AM while the US leads in polymer AM, while Asia is expected to emerge as the largest area for both materials segments by the end of the forecast period.
Finally, the analyst is presenting profiles of every major automaker, detailing their strategy in automotive AM and mapping all their publicly released activities in AM to date. Volkswagen Group emerges as the company that has made some of the most significant investments in this field, preceding other large German automakers such as BMW and Daimler Benz. Ford, FCA, and PSA are also expected to invest significantly and carry out several production initiatives. In Asia, much of the 3D printing activities in automotive are expected to be carried out by external AM service providers.
The analyst is also providing an analysis of the AM strategy by each major AM hardware manufacturer toward integrating their respective technologies into an end-to-end, fully automated production workflows which can cater to the automotive industry’s high-productivity requirements.
Table of Contents
Chapter One: Automotive Final Part Production
1.1 Pinpointing the Inflection Point for AM Adoption in Automotive Production
1.1.1 How and Why the Automotive Industry Will Adopt AM for Part Production
1.1.2 Follow the Money
1.2 Leading Automakers’ Investments in AM for Production
1.3 The Global Automotive Production Landscape and How it Relates to AM
1.3.1 How Automotive AM is Evolving
1.3.1.1 What’s New in this Report?
1.3.1.2 Which Automotive Parts are we Considering in this Report?
1.4 The Global Automotive AM Market Today
1.5 How Powertrain Electrification, Autonomous Driving, and Ride Sharing will Impact Automotive Production and AM
1.5.1 Electrification’s Impact on Automakers and Suppliers
1.5.1.1 Fuel Economy, Electric Mobility and AM
1.5.1.2 What this Means for AM Adopters and AM Service Providers
1.5.2 Autonomous Driving’s Impact on Automakers and Suppliers
1.5.2.1 How This Affects Additive Manufacturing
1.5.3 Mass Reduction Trends
1.6 Geographic Considerations for Automotive AM Applications
1.6.1 Notes on 3D Printing Auto Parts in China
1.6.2 Country-specific Forecasts for the Global Automotive AM Market
1.7 The Drive for More AM Automation and Networking
1.7.1 Automating the Direct AM End-to-end Process
1.7.2 Indirect Production Workflows Integrating AM Processes as a Key Intermediate Step
1.7.2.1 Immediate Benefits of 3D Printing Molds and Casts
1.8 Primary Additive Manufacturing Application Segments in Automotive
1.9 Forecasting in this Report
1.9.1 Discussion of Methodology
1.9.2 Important Methodology Changes vs. Previous Studies
1.10 Key Points from this Chapter
Chapter Two: The Evolutionary Trends for AM Hardware and Materials in Automotive
2.1 Key AM Technologies for Automotive
2.1.1 Recent Evolution of AM Technologies Used in Automotive Production
2.1.1.1 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Material Extrusion (ME) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.2 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Metal and Sand Binder Jetting (BJ) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.3 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Bound Metal Deposition (BMD) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.4 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Material Jetting (MJ) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.5 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Vat Photopolymerization (PP) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.6 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Layerless Photopolymerization (PP) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.7 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Laser Powder Bed Fusion (Laser PBF) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.8 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Infrared Powder Bed Fusion (Infrared PBF) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.9 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Metal Powder Bed Fusion (Metal PBF) for Automotive AM
2.1.1.10 Recent Evolutionary Trends in Metal Directed Energy Deposition (DED) for Automotive AM
2.2 Ten-year Forecast for AM Hardware Demand and Revenues in Automotive
2.3 Geographic Distribution of AM Hardware Demand and Revenues in Automotive
2.3.1 Geographic Distribution of Metal AM Hardware
2.3.1.1 Europe
2.3.1.2 Americas
2.3.1.3 Asia
2.3.1.4 Rest of the World
2.3.2 Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Hardware
2.3.2.1 Europe
2.3.2.2 Americas
2.3.2.3 Asia
2.3.2.4 Rest of the World
2.4 Key Points from this Chapter
Chapter Three: Evolutionary Trends for AM Materials in Automotive
3.1 Key Evolutions in Polymers for Automotive AM
3.2 Key Evolutions in Metals for Automotive AM
3.3 Other Relevant Materials for Automotive AM
3.3.1 Long-term Ceramics AM Opportunities
3.3.2 Additive Manufacture of Composites for Automobiles Making Strides
3.3.2.1 Continuous vs. Chopped Fiber Composites in AM
3.4 Ten-year Forecast for Demand and Revenues of AM Materials in Automotive
3.4.1 Extrusion Materials in Automotive AM
3.4.2 Photopolymer Materials in Automotive AM
3.4.3 Thermoplastic Powder Materials in Automotive AM
3.4.4 Metal Powder Materials in Automotive AM
3.4.5 Geographic Distribution of Materials Demand and Revenues in Automotive Additive Manufacturing
3.4.6 Geographic Distribution of Polymer Demand and Revenues in Automotive AM
3.4.7 Geographic Distribution of Metal Demand and Revenues in Automotive AM
3.5 Key Points from this Chapter
Chapter Four: Automotive AM Tools and Final Parts
4.1 AM for Tools in Automotive
4.1.1 Types of AM Tools Considered in This Report
4.1.1.1 3D Printing for Composite Tooling
4.1.2 Ten-year Forecast of Polymer AM Tools Demand and Revenues for Automotive
4.1.3 Ten-year Forecast of Metal AM Tools Demand and Revenues for Automotive
4.2 Direct Production of Additively Manufactured Final Parts
4.2.1 Types of Final Parts Produced by AM in Automotive
4.2.2 Ten-year Forecast of Polymer AM Final Parts Demand and Revenues for Automotive
4.2.3 Ten-year Forecast of Metal AM Final Parts Demand and Revenues for Automotive
4.3 Key Points from this Chapter
Chapter Five: The New Automotive Supply Chain and the Evolving Roles of OEMs, Automotive Suppliers, and AM Service Providers
5.1 Internal Production, Automotive Parts Suppliers and AM Service Providers
5.2 How AM Automation and AM Software Fit into the Equation for Production of AM Parts
5.3 Searching for Increased AM Automation in Automotive Part Production
5.3.1 Automating AM Processes for Automotive Production
5.3.1.1 Automating Material Extrusion Processes
5.3.1.2 Automating Polymer Powder Bed Fusion Processes
5.3.1.3 Automating Metal Powder Bed Fusion Processes
5.3.1.4 Automating Metal Deposition Processes
5.3.1.5 Automating Photopolymerization Processes
5.3.1.6 Automating Binder Jetting Processes
5.3.2 Automated AM Factory Concepts and How they Apply to Automotive Additive Manufacturing
5.3.2.1 Metal Powder Bed Fusion Factories
5.3.2.2 Metal and Sand Binder Jetting Factories
5.3.2.3 Polymer Additive Manufacturing Factories
5.3.2.4 Number of AM Sites Evolving Toward AM Factory Capabilities
5.4 Internal Production vs. Automotive Suppliers vs. AM Service Providers
5.5 Automotive Internal Production AM Revenues
5.6 AM Service Providers Revenues in Automotive
5.7 Automotive Suppliers’ AM Revenues
5.8 Key Points from this Chapter
Chapter Six: Additive Manufacturing Production Profiles for Key Automakers
6.1 Volkswagen Group
6.1.1 Audi
6.1.2 Porsche
6.1.3 Bugatti
6.1.4 Lamborghini
6.2 General Motors
6.3 Ford Motor Company
6.4 Daimler-Benz
6.5 BMW Group
6.5.1 Rolls-Royce
6.6 PSA Group
6.7 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
About the Analyst
Acronyms and Abbreviations Used In this Report
List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1-1: A Trend Timeline for Industrialization of Additive Manufacturing in Automotive
Exhibit 1-2: Map of AM Adoption for Tooling and Direct Part Production by Leading Automakers (only publicly released information)
Exhibit 1-3: Global Car Unit Sales 2018 – 2024 (Millions of units)
Exhibit 1-4: Overall Value of the Automotive Market Compared to Automotive Parts Production and Automotive AM
Exhibit 1-5: Total AM Market Value for Automotive 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 1-6: Expected Year-on-Year Growth Rate for AM Automotive
Exhibit 1-7: Expected CAGR Rates for Automotive AM Segments
Exhibit 1-8: World Motor Vehicle Production by Geographic Distribution
Exhibit 1-9: Cumulative Global Revenues ($USM) by Country in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 1-10: AM Revenues in Automotive by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 1-11: Automotive Industry AM Adoption Model
Exhibit 2-1: AM Technologies Considered in this Report and Leading OEMs
Exhibit 2-2: Forecast of Pro AM Hardware Units Demand (2019-2029)
Exhibit 2-3: Expected Pro AM Hardware Installed Base (2019-2029)
Exhibit 2-4: Forecast of Average Weighed AM Hardware System Price in Automotive: Polymer vs. Metal
Exhibit 2-5: Average Polymer AM Hardware Price by System Technology
Exhibit 2-22: Automotive Polymer AM Hardware Unit Demand in the Americas by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 2-23: Automotive Polymer AM Hardware Revenues in the Americas by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 2-24: Automotive Polymer AM Hardware Unit Demand in the Americas by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 2-25: Automotive Polymer AM Hardware Revenues in Asia by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 2-26: Automotive Polymer AM Hardware Unit Demand in the Rest of the World by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 2-27: Automotive Polymer AM Hardware Revenues in the Rest of the World by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-1: Summary of Potentially Disruptive AM Composite Manufacturing Technologies for the Automotive Industry
Exhibit 3-2: Demand of AM Materials for Automotive Applications 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-3: Weighted Average Price of Polymer and Metal AM Materials
Exhibit 3-4: AM Materials Revenues in Automotive 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-5: AM Materials Revenues: Year on Year Growth Rates 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-6: Expected CAGR for AM Materials Revenues in Automotive by Material Family 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-7: Thermoplastic Extrusion Materials Demand in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-8: Thermoplastic Extrusion Materials Demand in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-9: Thermoplastic Extrusion Materials Revenues CAGR 2019 – 2029
Exhibit 3-10: Photopolymer Materials Demand in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-11: Photopolymer Materials Revenues in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-12: Photopolymer Materials Revenues CAGR in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-13: Thermoplastic Powder Materials Demand in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-14: Thermoplastic Powder Materials Revenues in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-15: Photopolymer Materials Revenues CAGR in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-16: Metal Powder Materials Demand in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-17: Metal Powder Materials Demand in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-18: Photopolymer Materials YoY Growth in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-19: Metal Materials Revenues CAGR in Automotive AM 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-20: Geographic Distribution of Polymer Materials Demand for Automotive Additive Manufacturing 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-21: Geographic Distribution of Polymer Materials Revenues for Automotive Additive Manufacturing 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-22: Geographic Distribution of Metal Materials Demand for Automotive AM 2019 – 2029
Exhibit 3-23: Geographic Distribution of Metal Materials Revenues for Automotive Additive Manufacturing 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-24: Automotive Polymer AM Materials Cumulative Consumption by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-25A: Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Materials Demand (Metric Tonnes) by Country 2019 – 2024
Exhibit 3-25B: Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Materials Demand (Metric Tonnes) by Country 2024-2029
Exhibit 3-26: Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Materials Demand (Metric Tonnes) In Europe by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-27: Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Materials Demand (Metric Tonnes) in the Americas by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-28: Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Materials Demand (MetricTonnes) in Asia by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-29: Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Materials Demand (MetricTonnes) in the Rest of the World by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-30: Automotive Metal AM Materials Cumulative Consumption (in MetricTonnes) by Country 2019- 2029
Exhibit 3-31A: Geographic Distribution of Metal AM Materials Demand (MetricTonnes) by Country 2019 – 2024
Exhibit 3-31B: Geographic Distribution of Polymer AM Materials Demand (MetricTonnes) by Country 2024 - 2029
Exhibit 3-32: Geographic Distribution of Metal AM Materials Revenues in Europe byCountry 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-33: Geographic Distribution of Metal AM Materials Revenues in theAmericas by Country 2019 – 2029
Exhibit 3-34: Geographic Distribution of Metal AM Materials Revenues in Asia byCountry 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 3-35: Geographic Distribution of Metal AM Materials Revenues in The Rest ofthe World by Country 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 4-1: Size and Weight of 3D Printed Automotive Tools Considered in thisReport’s Forecasts
Exhibit 4-2: Polymer Tools AM Production Units (000s) for Automotive by Size andType of Supplier 2019 -2029
Exhibit 4-3: Polymer Tools AM Production Revenues for Automotive by Size andType of Supplier 2019 -2029
Exhibit 4-4: Metal Tools Produced by AM (Thousands of Units), by Supplier Type2019 - 2029
Exhibit 4-5: Metal Tool Additive Manufacturing Related Revenues in Automotive2019 - 2029
Exhibit 4-6: Typical 3D-printed Oil and Gas Parts and Relative Size and Weight 119
Exhibit 4-7: Types of Polymer AM Parts and Relative Associated Revenues in theAutomotive Industry 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 4-8: Polymer Final Parts AM Production Units for Automotive by Part Size
Exhibit 4-9: Polymer Final Parts AM Revenues for Automotive by Part Size 2019 -2029
Exhibit 4-10: Types of Metal AM Parts and Relative Associated Revenues in theAutomotive Industry 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 4-11: Metal Final Parts AM Production Units for Automotive by Part Size
Exhibit 4-12: Polymer Final Parts AM Revenues for Automotive by Part Size 2019 -2029
Exhibit 5-1: Phases of the End-to-end AM Production Workflow that Require SpecificSoftware
Exhibit 5-2: AM Workflow Software Revenues in Automotive by Software Type 2019- 2029
Exhibit 5-3: Number of Sites Providing AM Production Services to the AutomotiveIndustry 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 5-4: Average number of Production-ready Printers per Site
Exhibit 5-5: AM Revenues in Automotive Production by Supplier Type 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 5-6: AM Revenues in Automotive Tool Production by Supplier Type 2019 -2029
Exhibit 5-7: AM Revenues in Automotive Final Part Production by Supplier Type2019 - 2029
Exhibit 5-8: AM Revenues for Automotive Tooling Internal Production 2019 - 2029
Exhibit 5-9: AM Revenues for Automotive Final Part Internal Production
Exhibit 5-10: AM Revenues for Automotive Tool Production by AM Service Bureaus
Exhibit 5-11: AM Revenues for Automotive Final Parts Internal Production
Exhibit 5-12: AM Revenues for Automotive Tool Production by Automotive Suppliers
Exhibit 5-13: Revenues for Final AM Part Production by Automotive Suppliers
Exhibit 6-1: AM Activities at Volkswagen Group
Exhibit 6-2: AM for Final Part Production Activities at Volkswagen
Exhibit 6-3: AM for Final Part Production Activities at Audi
Exhibit 6-4: AM for Final Part Production Activities at Porsche
Exhibit 6-5: AM for Final Part Production Activities at Bugatti
Exhibit 6-6: AM for Final Part Production Activities at Lamborghini
Exhibit 6-7: AM Activities at General Motors
Exhibit 6-8: AM for Final Part Production Activities at GM
Exhibit 6-9: AM Activities at Ford
Exhibit 6-10: AM for Final Part Production Activities at Ford
Exhibit 6-11: AM Activities at Daimler Benz
Exhibit 6-12: AM for Final Part Production Activities at Daimler Benz
Exhibit 6-13: AM Activities at BMW
Exhibit 6-14: AM for Final Part Production Activities at BMW
Exhibit 6-15: AM Activities at PSA
Exhibit 6-16: AM for Final Part Production Activities at PSA
Exhibit 6-17: AM Activities at FCA
Exhibit 6-18: AM for Final Part Production Activities at FCA
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Audi
- BMW Group
- Bugatti
- Daimler-Benz
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
- Ford Motor Company
- General Motors
- Lamborghini
- PSA Group
- Porsche
- Rolls-Royce
- Volkswagen Group
