Electric Vehicle Plastics Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the electric vehicle plastics market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global electric vehicle plastics market reached a value of nearly $2.22 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.02% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $2.22 billion in 2023 to $6.15 billion in 2028 at a rate of 22.60%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.11% from 2028 and reach $16.7 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the increasing smart city projects, increased sales of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), rise in disposable incomes of people and growing charging infrastructure. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were increasing cost of raw materials used in automotive.

Going forward, the rising urban population, expansion of e-commerce, growing demand for electric vehicles, rising demand for lighter vehicles and favorable governments initiatives will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the electric vehicle plastics market in the future include restrictions on free trade.

The electric vehicle plastics market is segmented by resin into polypropylene (PP), polyamide (PA), polyethylene (PE), polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and other resins. The polypropylene (PP) market was the largest segment of the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by resin, accounting for 29.82% or $661.98 million of the total in 2023. Going forward, the polyamide (PA) segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by resin, at a CAGR of 26.34% during 2023-2028.

The electric vehicle plastics market is segmented by vehicle into battery electric vehicle (BEV), plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) and fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV). The battery electric vehicle (BEV) market was the largest segment of the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by vehicle, accounting for 74.19% or $1.64 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by vehicle, at a CAGR of 29.37% during 2023-2028.

The electric vehicle plastics market is segmented by application into interior, exterior, powertrain system or under bonnet and lighting and electric wiring. The exterior market was the largest segment of the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by application, accounting for 34.85% or $773.57 million of the total in 2023. Going forward, the powertrain system or under bonnet segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 24.74% during 2023-2028.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the electric vehicle plastics market, accounting for 66.71% or $1.48 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the electric vehicle plastics market will be Asia Pacific and Africa where growth will be at CAGRs of 23.45% and 22.97% respectively. These will be followed by Middle East and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 22.67% and 21.67% respectively.

The global electric vehicle plastics market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of small players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 16.99% of the total market in 2023. Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) was the largest competitor with a 2.76% share of the market, followed by Covestro AG with 2.45%, BASF SE with 2.43%, Dow Company with 2.43%, AGC Inc (AGC Chemicals) with 1.94%, LyondellBasell Industries Holdings NV with 1.25%, Asahi Kasei Corp with 1.10%, ARKEMA SA with 1.09%, Mitsubishi Corp with 0.79% and Sumitomo Chemicals Co Ltd with 0.75%.

The top opportunities in the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by resin will arise in the polypropylene (PP) segment, which will gain $1.31 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by vehicle will arise in the battery electric vehicle segment, which will gain $2.83 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the electric vehicle plastics market segmented by application will arise in the interior segment, which will gain $1.29 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The electric vehicle plastics market size will gain the most in China at $1.65 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the electric vehicle plastics market include focus on strategic investment in eco-friendly materials, focus on new era of sustainable materials in electric vehicle production, focus on advancements in sustainable technology enhanced electric vehicle plastics market and focus on next-generation nonwoven fabric for safe electric vehicle batteries.

Player-adopted strategies in the electric vehicle plastics market include focus on launching new products to enhance business offerings.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the electric vehicle plastics companies to focus on eco-friendly materials for electric vehicle plastics, focus on sustainable materials for electric vehicle plastics, focus on advanced recycling technologies for electric vehicle plastics, focus on next-generation nonwoven fabrics for electric vehicle batteries, focus on polyamide for electric vehicle plastics growth, focus on fuel cell electric vehicles for market growth, focus on powertrain system plastics for growth, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on urban population.