Safety Restraint Systems to Find Greater Uptake Across All Vehicle Segments

PALO ALTO, Calif.--Feb. 1, 20056, 2005--New regulations and industry voluntary agreements are leading to wider adoption of safety restraints systems across all vehicle segments. Vehicle manufacturers have long been constrained by pricing pressure and the resultant low margins to introduce safety systems in the high-end luxury vehicles, which have substantial outlays for such systems. That is changing.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.transportation.frost.com), Strategic Analysis of the North American Safety Restraint System Markets, reveals that the market achieved revenue worth $2.77 billion in 2003. This is estimated to reach $4.11 billion in 2010.

Installation of these safety systems helps the medium and top-end automakers to differentiate their products, especially when vehicles have similar basic functional features. This factor is a huge boost to the safety restraint systems market. Safety restraint systems expect to be accepted by manufacturers of lower-priced vehicles only when the technology matures and costs decline. Basic restraint system technology is now a mature area and with the upcoming revision of Federal Motor Vehicle Standard (FMVSS) 214, safety restraints such as Seatbelts and Airbags shall become ubiquitous across all vehicle classes.

"While the entry-level segment's competition continues to be based on price with product parity, the middle to high-end segments offer automakers more room to differentiate their vehicles based on safety systems," says Frost & Sullivan Senior Research Analyst Anis Sayyad.

However, automakers are likely to be cautious about the type of systems they use in their vehicles. System reliability is likely to receive top priority, since a system failure will harm the quality ratings they receive from independent agencies.

Any system that is not 100 percent reliable is rejected by automakers at the outset, since such devices not only affect the brand image of the vehicle but also compromise on passenger and vehicle safety.

Consumer awareness about different safety systems is on the rise. Automakers and systems suppliers are also doing their bit to promote safety.

"Automakers are catering to this increased awareness by making more systems standard equipment," notes Sayyad. "They also introduce newer safety systems on their vehicles to meet the demand created by better awareness and to achieve top-of-mind brand recall."

Test results about crashworthiness of vehicles that are published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are a huge impetus to the safety restraint system market. Automakers have been installing new active and passive systems to get higher ratings on the crashworthiness tests.

Strategic Analysis of the North American Safety Restraint System Markets, a part of the "North American Advanced Automotive Technologies" subscription (9813) provides an overview of and an outlook for the North American safety restraint system markets. It has been segmented into markets for occupant restraints, pedestrian safety, and vehicle crash compatibility systems. The research provides detailed revenue and market forecasts to help design marketing strategies and maximize growth. It enables companies to align their positioning strategies for benefiting from the changing markets and obtaining maximum return on investment.

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Strategic Analysis of the North American Safety Restraint System Markets

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Keywords in this release: safety restraint system, North America, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NHTSA, crashworthiness tests, occupant, pedestrian, body protection systems, research, information, market, trends, technology, service, forecast.