North America Automotive Seat Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The North America automotive seats market is poised to register a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period (2020 - 2025).

Key Highlights

• In 2019, the overall vehicle production in North America declined due to trade war and global economic slowdown. Even after that North America holds a significant market share in global automotive production, owing to its higher demand for trucks.
• The United States is one of the key markets not only in North America but globally. Although the automotive industry is the largest exporter in the United States after that the aerospace industry. North America has several automotive OEMs who pioneer the global automotive industry due to their constant push for R&D activities. For instance, in the past five years, FCA US, Ford, and General Motors have announced investments of more than USD 35 billion in their U.S. locations. This investment is for the up gradation and expansion of assembly, plants, R&D labs, headquarters, administrative offices, and other infrastructure.
• An automotive seat typically consists of a frame, a backrest, a headrest, a seat base, and armrests. They are made of various materials, metals, composites, foam and polyester or leather. In a recent market trend, there are lots of advancement being done in the automotive seating market. For instance, customized intelligent seats can detect stress levels and notify the driver, while biometric sensing systems can monitor the passenger’s health and well-being. In autonomous cars rotating seats are already becoming a regular feature.

Key Market Trends

Rise in Acceptance of Electric Vehicles

The factor which is likely to fuel the demand of the automotive seat industry in North America is the growing production of electric vehicles. The presence of Tesla Inc., GM, and Chevrolet in the region have made North America a hotspot for high-performance electric vehicles. Ventilated seats, which are used in electric vehicles, will witness a surge in demand over the future years, as more customers start purchasing electric vehicles.

With the increase in electrification, seat manufacturers are focusing on efficient heating and air conditioning systems are needed inside the vehicle. For instance, in 2019, Lear Corporation and Gentherm were entered into a partnership for the development of passenger thermal seating solutions.

Whereas, top automotive OEMs and seat manufacturers have started spending of huge amount on research and development of seats. The revolution started from the child safety seat, lightweight seats and now autonomous cars are revolutionizing the seating arrangements and car interiors. For instance, Lear Intu Intelligent Seating Ecosystem takes occupants’ biometric measurements to observe wellness and change the seating position accordingly. In case if a passenger is facing fatigue, it can adjust the seat into a more upright posture to improve alertness.

The United States is Anticipated to Lead the North American Automotive Seat Market

The United States accounts for more than 60% of North America’s total car production. According to OICA passenger car production in the United States is around 2.5 million units in 2019, which is 9.8% less than the previous year.

The North American Automotive seat market is expected to lead by the United States followed by Canada and Mexico. North America has the god capability of manufacturing of seats due to that it also exports a good share of its locally produced seats to other countries also.

Traditionally North America, particularly the United States was the largest consumer and producer of pick-up trucks. Also, the region has witnessed a 2.0% decrease in the production of light commercial vehicles form last year (2018). Many electric passenger car makers are entering into the commercial vehicle market by launching their new electric pickup trucks, which will drive the market in the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

The North America Automotive Seat market is consolidated and majorly dominated by few players, such as Adient PLC, Lear Corporation, Magna International Inc., and Faurecia. The market is highly driven by factors like advanced technology, more comfort, growing investment in R&D projects and a growing market of electric and autonomous vehicles around the region.

To provide more luxurious experience to the people, major automotive seat manufacturers are making joint ventures with seat manufacturers. For instance,

• Shenyang Jinbei Automotive forms a joint venture with Adient to produce automobile seats.
• January 2020, Adient sold its one of the automotive seating brands, Recaro Automotive Seating, which has three locations in Europe, the U.S., and Japan.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support