Automotive Aftermarket Glass Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Tempered Glass, Laminated Glass, Others), By Vehicle Type, By Application (Windscreen, Drug Delivery), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030

Market Size & Trends

The global automotive aftermarket glass market size was valued at USD 2.79 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8% from 2023 to 2030. Increasing cases of road traffic accidents across the world coupled with high vehicle production are anticipated to boost the consumption of glass in the automotive aftermarket. The rising popularity of car rental services is projected to further propel the growth of the aftermarket, as these new fleet owners have raised the maintenance standards of the vehicles. This has also led the glass suppliers to develop dedicated offerings for the fleet owners along with customized solutions.

The presence of a large number of millennials is bringing about a change in the ideology pertaining to owning a personal vehicle like a car. Factors, such as depreciation, rising fuel prices, and availability of affordable mobility like car rental services, have led to the growth of vehicle leasing. According to the Association of Dutch Vehicle Leasing Companies, leased vehicles constituted over 45% of newly purchased light vehicles in 2017. Thus, the growing trend of leasing, re-leasing, and mobility services is anticipated to boost the global market for automotive aftermarket glass.

The automotive industry has witnessed phenomenal growth over the past few years, leading to a rise in the number of vehicles on the roads, thus, offering a bigger target market to the aftermarket players. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the average number of car accidents in the U.S. is six million per year. Sidelite and windshield are the most common vehicle parts that require replacement after an accident. The rising number of vehicles on the roads along with accident cases is projected to propel the market growth over the forecast period.

Although the market is anticipated to witness steady growth in the forthcoming years, there are certain challenges such as inventory management and rising digitization, which may hinder the growth to an extent. The presence of innumerable car models across the world makes it challenging for the vendors in the market to manage inventory as per customer requirements. Also, increased consumer awareness regarding product prices and available options due to digitization is likely to lead to diminished margins for vendors.

The market is anticipated to witness steady growth over the forecast period owing to the rising production of new vehicles in emerging economies including China and India. The auto aftermarket glass market is indirectly dependent on the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). Auto aftermarket glass demand has an upward shift owing to contributing factors such as a rise in accidents, an inclination towards personalization, and increasing repair and replacement of auto parts over a period of time.

The sidelight, backlight, and windscreen are the most common parts that require replacement after an accident. The windscreen plays a crucial role in supporting the structure of the car and also the safety of the driver & passengers. Aftermarket glass manufacturers and expert glass fabricators produce the same quality windscreen offered by OEMs in the vehicle glass industry.

The rising production of commercial vehicles represents a growth opportunity for the automotive aftermarket glass industry in the long term. This can be attributed to the fact that automotive glass needs to be replaced after a certain prolonged period of time since the loss of quality and visibility of automotive glass decreases with time owing to dust or weather effects. Aftermarket glass is also distributed in the market by OEM’s trusted dealers.

Consumers of used vehicles prefer laminated glass over tempered glass due to high durability, minimal cost of fitting, and toughness in nature. Laminated glass is preferred in windshields over the tempered glass, especially in developed economies of North America and Europe. Lamination in the glass helps it to not break into pieces, thus it is more expensive than its counterparts.

The aftermarket manufacturers of glass industries are extensively using high quality raw material for producing glass products. The rising inclination to acquire high purity materials including soda ash, silica, limestone, among others is likely to increase the procurement cost for glass vendors over the near future. Thereby, directly impacting the cost for glass related products.

Raw materials constitute a major part of the cost structure of the glass manufacturing process and thus, their prices have a significant impact on the overall cost of manufacturing glass. Soda ash is the key raw material used for manufacturing automotive aftermarket glass. The price of soda ash has been increasing for the past couple of years. The raw material required for these glasses includes silica fine sand, soda ash dolomite, culet, and limestone. Rising inflation in developed countries including Germany and U.S. as well as increasing raw material prices are major restraints of the aftermarket glass market that can pose challenges in coming years.

Product Insights

The tempered glass segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 51.3% in 2022 on account of its exceptional characteristics and low-cost compared to laminated glass. The manufacturing process of tempered glass gives it high strength and robustness, which has increased its utilization in vehicles, mainly in sidelite and backlite.

The laminated glass segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period. Growing consumer awareness pertaining to safety concerns is projected to drive the demand for laminated glass for windshields in the replacement market. The structure of the glass restricts falling and breaking into pieces, which has boosted its utilization in windshields.

The rising demand for glass in the automotive aftermarket is encouraging the manufacturers to enhance their production capacities and invest in new and advanced technologies. For instance, in January 2019, Fuyao North America Inc. announced the launch of a new processing center with an investment of USD 16.1 million in the U.S., and its parent company has been engaged in producing glass for both OEMs and aftermarket suppliers. Also, in March 2019, Vitro announced its investment of USD 60 million in new technologies focusing on the supply of automotive glass to both OEMs and aftermarket customers.

Vehicle Type Insights

The passenger cars segment accounted for the largest revenue share of around 66.2% in 2022. Passenger cars account for a share of over 70% of global vehicle production and their demand is driven by increasing consumer spending, especially in developing economies. According to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), global vehicle production increased by 6% in 2022 compared to the previous year. This is a positive sign for the market growth over the forecast period.

The light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment is estimated to register the fastest CAGR of 6.5% over the forecast period. According to the OICA, light commercial vehicle production increased by 7% in 2022 compared to the total LCV production in 2021. The global production of LCV was recorded at 19.86 million units in 2022. North America witnessed the fastest growth rate of 11.0% from 2021 to 2022 in terms of the production of light commercial vehicles, followed by Asia-Oceania and South America with 3.0%. The demand for glass in commercial vehicles is propelled by the depreciation in the quality and visibility along with an increasing number of road accidents, which lead to glass replacement.

Application Insights

The sidelite segment held the largest revenue share of 33.8% in 2022 due to the fact that these vehicle parts incur maximum damage in case of and require frequent replacement. The increasing size of the windshield is anticipated to drive the usage of glass, thereby, boosting the growth of the segment. Sidelites, also known as side windows along with backlite, also known as the rear windshield, or rear window, of vehicles, are generally manufactured using tempered glass.

The backlite segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR of 6.6% over the forecast period. Technological developments coupled with increasing cases of car component thefts and road accidents worldwide are expected to boost the utilization of better-quality glasses for sidelites and backlites. The increasing market for sunroofs is a key factor anticipated to augment the demand for glass in the automotive market. However, sunroofs are less likely to get damaged in case of accidents. This factor is expected to limit the product demand in the aftermarket.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific dominated the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 54.2% in 2022 owing to changing consumer lifestyles and rising disposable income in the region. In addition, factors such as high domestic demand, raw material availability, cheap labor cost, and abundant land availability result in a lower glass manufacturing cost in the Asia Pacific. The Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market owing to the high economical aftermarket glass production units existing in the countries including India and China. China is the major contributor to the aftermarket glass market owing to the highest manufacturing facilities producing replacement parts such as tempered glass and laminated glass in the market.

North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period owing to the increasing OEM production of light commercial vehicles. A heated windscreen offered by aftermarket glass players is ideal for cold weather in states such as Pennsylvania in the U.S. for defogging and defrosting faster than standard alternatives available in the market. Digital channels are gaining increasing importance in terms of influencing customer purchasing decisions and research processes in the developed markets across the North American region.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is competitive in nature with the presence of various established players. Multiyear agreements, new product development, and capacity expansion are the key strategies adopted by the market players to strengthen their market positions. In June 2019, AGC Automotive Europe signed a franchise agreement with Belron, a VGRR group. Under this agreement, AGC’s 37 VGRR locations in Poland operating under the NordGlass brand and 19 VGRR locations in the Czech Republic operating under the AG Experts brand are expected to now operate under the Belron brand.

Recent Development

• In May 2022, NSG Group unveiled its intention to integrate its automotive glass business in China with SYP Kangqiao Autoglass Co., Ltd., a leading manufacturer of automotive glass in China. This strategic integration with SYP Automotive aims to strengthen NSG Group's capacity to effectively cater to the increasing demands from automobile manufacturers within the Chinese market.

• In March 2022, LKQ Corporation entered into an agreement with One Equity Partners to sell PGW Auto Glass, a prominent distributor of aftermarket glass within the North American automotive industry. As per the information available on its official website, PGW claims an extensive network comprising over 100 distribution branches and a customer base of more than 27,000 across the U.S. and Canada. Through its fleet of 500 vehicles, the company efficiently delivers windshields, tempered glass, and various other automotive products to over 9,000 installation customers.

• In March 2019, an automotive-glass manufacturer in North America, Vitro, committed a substantial investment of USD 60 million towards the development and implementation of cutting-edge technologies. These investments were strategically targeted at the North American market, aiming to enhance Vitro's dominant position in the automotive glass sector. The company intended to strengthen its role as a premier supplier to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aftermarket customers in the region.

Automotive Aftermarket Glass Market Report Scope

Global Automotive Aftermarket Glass Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global automotive aftermarket glass market report on the basis of product, vehicle type, application, and region:

• Product Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; Volume, Thousand Square Meters, 2018 - 2030)

  • Tempered Glass

  • Laminated Glass

  • Others

• Vehicle Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; Volume, Thousand Square Meters, 2018 - 2030)

  • Passenger Cars

  • Light Commercial Vehicles

  • Heavy Commercial Vehicles

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; Volume, Thousand Square Meters, 2018 - 2030)

  • Windscreen

  • Backlite

  • Sidelite

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; Volume, Thousand Square Meters, 2018 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • UK

    • Germany

    • France

    • Italy

    • Spain

    • Turkey

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

    • Australia

    • Thailand

    • South Korea

    • Indonesia

    • Malaysia

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

    • Argentina

  • Middle East and Africa

    • South Africa

    • Morocco