Abstract
Demand to grow 6.3% annually through 2008
The North American market for light vehicle entertainment system parts and components in the
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and aftermarket industries is projected to increase at an
annual rate of 6.3 percent, reaching $9.5 billion by 2008. Propelled by the introduction of
innovative new technologies, demand for entertainment system hardware is expected to maintain
comparatively healthy growth profiles at both the OEM and aftermarket levels.
Conventional audio under attack
The largest product category in the automotive entertainment system industry has been
conventional audio systems (e.g., AM/FM/cassette/CD systems), but these are being challenged on
multiple fronts. New technologies are expected to take increasing shares of the entertainment system
market in North America. The best prospects for growth include satellite radios, which have recently
entered the mainstream at both the OEM and aftermarket levels. The two subscription- based satellite
radio services in North America, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio, offer significantly
greater selections of music and entertainment programming than is available via traditional
broadcast networks. The companies are pursuing strategies similar to those used by the television
cable industry in offering premium content to subscribers that is not available elsewhere. They have
also generated significant interest at the OEM level, thus ensuring that new light vehicles feature
integrated satellite radio capability.
Hard drives to make inroads
The recent introduction of hard drive-equipped multimedia systems at both Blaupunkt Chicago
IVDM-7002 in-dash DVD system. North American Light Vehicle Entertainment System Demand ($7 billion,
2003) Table of contents & sample pages inside; other studies, order information on back the OEM
and aftermarket levels could signal a paradigm shift in entertainment system technologies. The
increasing robustness of micro hard drive technologies should allow OEM and aftermarket
entertainment system suppliers to dramatically expand the services provided without the addition of
bulky new hardware. Integration opportunities will also expand, as such hard drives can be used to
store entertainment media, including music and videos, as well as navigation system and other
digital data.
System integration to accelerate
A key trend in both the OEM and aftermarket entertainment system markets involves the continued
merging of functions across vehicle systems. While functional integration at the entertain system
level has long been the norm (i.e., single audio heads feature AM/FM/ Cassette/CD/MP3 capabilities),
the introduction of hard drives and other data storage technologies will expand integration
opportunities going forward. Radios featuring navigation system capabilities are already available,
and DVD players are featured in many vehicle navigation systems as well. Given the tight packaging
restrictions in most new vehicles, this trend will likely continue. Hardware integration not only
reduces the physical space needed for entertainment system components, but can also dramatically
reduce the amount of software needed to operate these largely electronic systems. | 
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