Mexico will use more and more engineering plastics for automotive applications

According to a research report published by the famous American consulting firm Frost & Sullivan in July this year, with the advancement of technology, the continuous development of the automotive industry and the continuous improvement of the performance requirements of the component materials, Mexico used There will be more and more engineering plastics in the automotive sector, which will drive market growth.

The engineering plastics used in Mexico's automotive industry include ABS, polyamide (PA), polycarbonate (PC), polyoxymethylene (POM), and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). Mexico's automotive engineering plastics market is currently at a stage of growth. The total market volume is relatively small, and there is ample room for further development. In 2011, the total sales of the market reached 760 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 37.3% year-on-year. The average annual growth rate in the next five years is expected to reach 9.6%. By 2017, the total market size is expected to reach 1.31 billion US dollars.

ABS resin is one of the most commonly used automotive engineering plastics, accounting for approximately 1/3 of the global automotive engineering plastics volume, and its application range is still expanding. The automotive ABS market in Mexico is currently growing, and its share in automotive engineering plastics is far from reaching the global level. In 2011, sales of 150 million US dollars, the average annual growth rate is expected to reach 8% in the next few years, 2017 sales are expected to be around 230 million US dollars.

Polyamide is the largest submarket in Mexico's engineering plastics sector. Sales in 2011 accounted for 40.3% of the total market, reaching US$300 million. This market is also in a growth phase and is expected to reach an average annual growth rate of 10.9% between 2011 and 2017. Sales in 2017 are expected to reach US$570 million.

Polycarbonate is the second largest market, with 2011 sales of 260 million US dollars, second only to polyamide, accounting for 33.7% of the total market. The growth rate of the polycarbonate market in the growth phase is expected to reach 9.1% in the next few years, and sales revenue in 2017 is expected to be around US$430 million.

PBT resin is mainly used in automotive engineering applications and has a small share. With sales of only US$28 million in 2011, this market is also in a growth phase and is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 8.1% from 2011 to 2017. Sales will reach US$45 million by 2017.

The application of POM resin is still in the development and growth stage, and the automobile is currently the most important application field. With 2011 sales of US$0.2 billion, the average annual growth rate in the coming years is expected to reach 8.1%, and by 2017, the market size is expected to be around US$0.3 billion.

Nine major producers in Mexico's automotive engineering plastics market are multinational companies. They are Saudi Basic Industries Corporation, BASF, DuPont, Bayer, Styron, Ticona, Rhodia Chemicals, Evonik and LANXESS. The first three companies accounted for 52.3% of the total market share.

Saudi Basic Industries Corporation ranks first in Mexico's automotive engineering plastics market with a share of 21.9%. At the same time, it is the largest share producer in the three submarkets of PC, PBT and POM. It is also the second largest ABS manufacturer in Mexico.

BASF, which accounts for 15.6% of Mexico's automotive engineering plastics market, ranks second. BASF is the largest producer of automotive ABS submarkets. At the same time, it is the second and third largest manufacturer of polyamide and PBT.

DuPont ranked third with 14.8% market share. DuPont is the largest producer of the polyamide submarket in Mexico and the second and third largest manufacturer of PBT and POM submarkets, respectively.

Although the amount of automotive engineering plastics used in Mexico continues to expand, the overall market share is still not large, and no multinational company is considering promoting new products in this region. However, the potential of Mexico's engineering plastics market is widely recognized. In 2011, Mexico’s engineering plastics market accumulated a total investment of approximately 450 million U.S. dollars, which will promote the vigorous development of the entire market.

Compared with other countries around the region, Mexico has the advantage of signing a series of free trade agreements. However, Mexico’s technological development is relatively low, and the investment in R&D and mechanic training in the field of automotive engineering plastics is also insufficient. Multinational corporations are limited in the development of new fields and the application of engineering plastics terminals due to lack of skilled workers in Mexico. At the same time, products from Asia account for a large share and are highly competitive; especially in the ABS sector, Asian imports account for 80% of the total.

In addition, although the substitution of traditional materials is one of the driving forces in Mexico's engineering plastics market, some traditional materials and other types of polymers are competing for the market of engineering plastics. For engineering plastics manufacturers, to deal with such challenges must continue to improve the product's cost performance, and broaden the application of the product.