Greater Modularisation to Drive European Powertrain Modules and Systems Market

LONDON, November 20 -- In the past, vehicle manufacturers (VMs) developed powertrain modules and systems such as intake, exhaust and valvetrain systems in-house. However, there has been a recent change in the strategy of VMs in terms of modularisation and sourcing.

"The European market for powertrain modules and systems will experience considerable growth by 2012, since VMs are shifting their sourcing strategy from the component level to subsystems and complete systems," notes Frost & Sullivan (http://www.automotive.frost.com) Senior Research Analyst Vijayendra Rao." The primary reasons for this are reduction in costs of labour, assembly, inventory and the common development of new technologies with suppliers."

In particular, intake and exhaust systems will witness huge growth in terms of outsourcing, as VMs such as Renault and Volkswagen begin outsourcing complete systems. Accordingly, the market size for intake systems is set to increase from about 4 million units in 2005 to over 11 million units by 2012.

Almost 65 percent of vehicles in Europe have exhaust systems being outsourced as subsystems or complete systems to suppliers. In the future, a shift in preference from subsystems to complete exhaust systems is expected. This is primarily because of benefits such as cost reduction, as well as innovation in the components that support the latest technology in fuel injection and emission offered by complete line exhaust systems. Accordingly, the market size, pegged at 11.6 million units in 2005, is expected to rise to over 20.5 million units by 2012.

About 77 percent of diesel vehicles in Europe are equipped with outsourced complete injection systems and this percentage is likely to surge to about 98 per cent by 2012, with a market size of approximately 10.6 million units. Meanwhile, complete injection systems outsourcing for gasoline engines is likely to rise towards 2009/2010 with the increased penetration of gasoline direct injection systems.

Currently, opportunities to supply complete valvetrain systems are limited, as most VMs retain their core competency for these systems and source only components. However, valvetrain systems will be a surprise market. With the increased penetration of variable valvetrain systems for gasoline vehicles and the inability of VMs to cater to the rise in demand, outsourcing complete systems to suppliers will gain importance by the end of the decade.

Suppliers are facing problems in developing an optimal solution (engine characteristics) of powertrain systems depending on the engine capacity since engine development is done in-house by VMs. Hence, developments in powertrain systems and engines should be in tandem to ensure optimal engine characteristics.

"Also, different components use a variety of materials at the intake side of the engine, making material integration a significant challenge," explains Mr. Rao. "The plastic intake manifold has to be assembled at the intake side of the engine. Interfacing metals with plastics poses problems related to heat and pressure compatibility of metals with plastics."

Hence, the manufacturing process will need to be optimised for easier assembly of powertrain systems with different materials. VMs will also need to involve suppliers at an early stage of development to reduce development costs and increase modularisation.

Strategic Analysis of the European Market for Powertrain Modules and Systems is part of the Automotive and Transportation Subscription, which also includes research in the following markets: air intake systems, exhaust systems, valvetrain systems, fuel injection systems. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews with the press are available.