Rocker panels may not be a term we are used to hearing. However, no vehicle would be the same without it. It helps to keep any type of vehicle together. And due to this, the importance of rocker panels has been on a rise in recent years. Rocker panels are one of the most important inventions and innovations of the automobile industry. The very reason that the industry cannot do without rocker panels has helped the Automotive Rocker Panel Market grow. And we can continue to see it rising in the coming years.
Automotive rocker, as the term suggests, is the rock of an automobile. It is nothing but the strip of metal or steel placed below the opening of the door and between the front and the back wheels to provide structural support and acts as a pillar to the doors in automobiles. If you are in the habit of driving with your elbow against the door, you have nothing to thank for but the rocker panel. We can easily see the edge of the panels after closing the door in the passenger cars. However, in light trucks, it acts as a step to allow the passenger or driver to step into the trick easily. In the early 1940s, the vehicles were not structured properly and quite often bent in the middle in collusion. This is how rocker panels came into existence.
In case of accidents, the front and back of the car as a rule must crumble to absorb the impact to protect its passengers. Rocker panels protect the cabin of the vehicle from distorting itself. As mentioned earlier, it also acts as a step in trucks and SUVs. Therefore, the panels are made larger and heavier to support the weight on them for the duration of the vehicle.
Additionally, it also shields the door panel from chipping and peeling away. Having said this, we can only imagine how important automotive rockers are in the manufacturing of vehicles.
However, the market of automotive rocker only increased after 2015 at a CAGR of around 6%. In 2018, the market share of the automotive rocker panel market stood at USD 48,236.13 Million. Since then, the market of automotive rockers has been on a steady rise. It is estimated that the market would grow to a staggering USD 68,623.13 Million by the end of 2025.
The automotive rocker panel market is studied by segmenting it into groups. By materials, the rocker panel market is divided into three, namely, plastic, rubber and steel. Although, there are other emerging materials coming into being. Whichever material has the most demand would be developed and restructured in the coming years. Polymer is fast emerging as the preferred and the best combination of materials available today to manufacture automotive rocker panels. The growing demand for the use of lightweight rocker panels would further enunciate the demand for polymer rocker panels.
However, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) prefer the steel rocker panels wanting the sleek metallic finish required to make the vehicles look cool and in style. One of the major challenges faced by rocker panels is their fast-rusting surface. To solve this, like all other equipment, rocker panels made out of stainless steel are also gaining popularity as it protects it against corrosion. It has also shown to fit snugly against the insides of the vehicles. Hence, everyday innovations driven by companies are elevating the market demand for rocker panels every year.
The market is also further divided by the use of the rocker panel. The panels are used for all types of vehicles ranging from two-wheelers, cars, SUVs, passenger cars, commercial cars, light trucks, heavy-duty trucks, trailers etc. In bigger vehicles, the panel also doubles up as a step to facilitate easy entering into the vehicle.
The market is also studied by sectioning it into the geographical region. This would include regions of North and South Americas, South-Pacific, South-Asia, Middle-east, Europe and Africa. The high selling areas of rocker panels in the Americas include the USA, Argentina, Spain, Canada and Mexico. The growth of a high-income population and the popularity of buying private vehicles have paved the way for the demand for rocker panels. South Asia and Asia-Pacific would comprise genial countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand. France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom are the countries taken into consideration as a part of the study of the market of rocker panels of the Middle-east and Europe.
North America was one of the regions that showed a rapid increase in the market of automotive rockers in recent years. This was due to their growing sales of passenger vehicles, as well as, heavy-duty vehicles.
Studies predict that the market would grow moderately for the next five years. Regions such as Asia-Pacific, Middle-East are expected to see astonishing growth in the coming years with the rising demand for heavy-duty vehicles. Companies are also investing in the innovation of existing automotive rocker panels to cater to changing prototypes and demands. All of this, in turn, would catapult the growth at an exponential rate.
The current trend of shifting manufacturing and production to low-cost countries will help the economies and the market of rocker panels in South-Pacific regions and in small economies like Slovakia, Poland etc who show capabilities of rising to both demand and supplying to the automotive rocker panel market.
The market is also divided based on vendors. Willmore, B&I, Smittybilt etc are some of the popular vendors of rocker panels. These vendors compete with each other based on price and supply. The marketing and initiatives of these vendors are what fuels the market for the rocker panels. The forecasts of automotive rocker panels predict that with the rise in demand for luxury cars, there is going to be a significant increase in the market of the rocker panel.
The automotive rocker panel market is predicted to grow at a moderate rate at around 5.5%-6% annually till 2025. Though, the coming years are set to see exponential growth in this sector. Having changed the basic structuring of automobiles, the rocker panels continue to innovate themselves making them useful and an important part of car manufacturing that they cannot do without. The market is set to grow over 100 Million by the end of the decade. The forecast predicts shifts in manufacturing as manufacturers are likely to move to low-cost countries to cut down costs further bringing in more profits and helping the economies. The materials used are also going through round innovations and advancements. As of now, polymers have emerged as a favorite among users. Stainless steel is also being preferred by manufacturers who want their automobiles to look sleek.
As predicted, the growth of rocker panels is directly proportional to the growth of vehicles. Therefore, as long as there is a demand for all types of vehicles, the rocker panels are here to stay and grow for a long time.
Expected to grow from USD 48,236.13 Million in 2018 to USD 68,623.13 Million by the end of 2025 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.16%.
Alice Barnet
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