Airbag Usage Rising due to Stringent Vehicle Safety Regulations

With the burgeoning number of vehicles in operation, the incidence of road accidents is also increasing. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.3 million people die on the roads every year, with the actual count rising continuously. Therefore, governments across the globe are making policies to impel automakers to install advanced safety features in automobiles. One of the most-common such features nowadays in four-wheelers is an airbag.

As per P&S Intelligence, with the strong government and individual focus on vehicle and passenger safety, the automotive airbag market will expand by a considerable degree in the coming years. If a vehicle comes to an abrupt stop, the airbags automatically inflate and stop people from banging their heads on the seat in front, doors and their windows, or on the front windshield, thus protecting them from severe cerebral trauma.

There are three types of airbags: curtain & side, knee, and front. Curtain & side airbags are deployed near doors and windows, to protect people from something hitting the vehicle from the side. Front airbags are deployed from within the steering and the side cabinet, thereby protecting people from smashing into the windshield, which can cause the glass to go through the skull. Knee airbags are deployed from the lower section of the front cabin, to protect people’s legs from getting sandwiched if the dashboard collapses into the vehicle floor.

Presently, North America is the largest automotive airbag market despite the fact that the highest number of vehicles is sold and produced in Asia-Pacific (APAC). This is because vehicle safety laws are the strictest in North America, and they have been around for a long time here. Airbags and anti-lock braking systems (ABS) in all passenger cars were made mandatory by the U.S. Highway Safety Act of 1991, 10–20 years before APAC. Moreover, the U.S. New Car Assessment Program (US NCAP) rates vehicles based on the safety features in them.

Further, led by China, Japan, India, and South Korea, APAC is the largest producer and buyer of automobiles. This is also credited to the presence of the factories of local and almost all major international automakers here. As a result, auto component manufacturers are marketing their airbags aggressively in the region, to leverage the large auto manufacturing base for higher revenue. In addition, sales of luxury and premium vehicles with advanced features, including airbags and ABS, are rising in the region due to people’s increasing income.

Thus, with the booming vehicle sales, the demand for airbags will rise.