Abstract
This Intelligence Set includes the latest edition of automotive wiper blades
report, plus manufacturer profiles for Bosch, Denso, Federal Mogul and Valeo.
Each profile includes a brief outline of business activity, financial
statistics, customers and more. They will allow you to discover where the
market is heading, what the latest innovations are, and how your competitors
are performing.
In this, the fifth edition, we review the key market drivers for automotive
wiper blades, and update our market analysis. At over 1,500 words longer than
the previous edition, just-auto' s latest global market review of automotive
wiper blades offers excellent value for money.
The average wiper blade wipes the windscreen over 1m times in a year, and
travels 800 miles in this time. Temperature extremes, heavy precipitation and
repetitive friction on the windscreen have a damaging effect on wiper blade
performance over time. A blade' s natural rubber provides the most flexible and
resilient edge for wiping across glass, but it eventually dries out and
deteriorates.
The flat wiper blade continues to dominate the OE market, driven by the need
for product quality, comfort and aesthetics. While European wiper makers refer
to ‘flat blades' , American manufacturers talk of ‘beam blades' .
While the European vehiclemakers have long since adopted flat blades, the
North American market is catching-up albeit gradually. While demand for flat
blades in Europe has grown at a phenomenal rate over the past decade,
manufacturers see no reason why demand shouldn' t continue to grow.
Manufacturers say there are very few vehicles being built these days equipped
with conventional blades. Although flat blades are also appearing on the rear
window, the market is divided between conventional and flat blades depending
on the OEM.
Over the past decade, manufacturers have continued to develop so-called flat
wiper blades. The market drivers are product quality, comfort and aesthetics,
say manufacturers. An auto executive told us: “Generally speaking, the
flat is dominating the market now. There are no new cars coming through -
other than Japanese cars - which are not specifying beam blades. The Japanese
cars are still using some conventional blades and some what we call a hybrid
which is really a mixture of conventional and a beam blade. Also, the other
significant trend is that the length of the flat blade is increasing,
particularly on the driver side. The performance requirements are also
becoming more and more stringent with higher speeds. The longer blades relate
to the fact that windshields are becoming larger as well as legislation
regarding wipe quality on the driver' s side.”
Another auto executive said: “We are looking at new vehicles which will
come out in two to three years time, most of which will feature flat blades.
Among the very low-end vehicles, there might be some conventional blades but
for all other cars in Europe we see these flat blades being sourced. So we can
say that flat blades have been a success story. The technology appeared eight
to ten years ago and now we have penetration of flat blades of almost 100%
which is a relatively short period.”
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