SmarTech Analysis Report: Automotive Plastic 3D Printing to Reach $2.7B by 2030

New York – A new report from SmarTech Analysis predicts the market for polymer 3D printing in North America and Europe’s automotive markets will reach $2.7 billion by 2030. The Market for Additive Manufactured Polymer Automotive Parts: Europe and North America Regions reports the growth will be fueled by hardware, tooling, and end-use parts as the industry scales capacity for direct 3D printing of end parts.

The report breaks down the adoption of commercialized polymer 3D printing technologies and their associated materials, including powder bed fusion, photopolymerization and material extrusion. These segments are examined granularly in terms of both data and written analysis of specific technology types to better identify technology adoption trends.

The SmarTech report offers a strategic view of the current automotive landscape through the lens of megatrends that are affecting the supply chain, design cycles and market strategies of some of the world’s biggest automakers. It includes an eight-year forecast of polymer 3D printing hardware and materials, with breakouts by discrete technology type and by North American and European regions. The report also forecasts revenue opportunities for production of end-use parts and production support assets (i.e., jigs, fixtures, tooling and assembly aids). This report will be followed by a SmarTech publication of 3D-printed metal parts for the automotive industry.

Report Highlights:

• As most major automakers publicly announce timelines to cease production of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, the industry is facing reconfiguration of the automotive supply chain. 3D printing is being leveraged to support this reconfiguration with demand for 3D printed production support assets forecast to growing from 1.5 million support assets printed in 2022 to 6.5 million in 2030.
• Emerging thermal powder bed fusion (PBF) and layerless photopolymerization technologies are driving the trend towards direct automotive part production. Polypropylene is expected to become a significant materials revenue opportunity by the end of the forecast period in the PBF segment. These high-volume technologies are forecast to rapidly increase in share of total AM deployments with high-volume direct part production accelerating from $80 million in 2022 to over $600 million.
• The European region is forecast to see marginally higher AM hardware and materials revenue than North America, with automakers like Volkswagen, BMW, PSA and Daimler Benz leading investments into 3D printing for production support and direct production.