Automotive Composites Market

Carmakers built 96.4 million vehicles in 2025, up 3.9%, with China making 34.53 million, the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) reported on 23 April 2026, while European composites output fell about 3% to 2,281 kilotonnes, the German composites federation AVK’s 2025 market report of 16 March 2026 shows. The automotive composites market covers fibre-reinforced polymer material, glass, carbon and natural fibre in thermoset or thermoplastic matrices, delivered into cars, vans, trucks and buses; unreinforced plastics and metal parts are excluded. Douglas Insights sizes it at USD 15.6 billion in 2025, about 5.02 million tonnes at an average USD 3.11 per kilogram, and at USD 27.9 billion in 2035, a 5.97% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The study sits beside our Thermoset Composites Market, Electric Vehicles Polymers Market and Thermoplastic Carbon Fiber Composites Market reports; every figure follows the Douglas Insights research methodology.

Which vehicle parts use the most automotive composites: body panels, under-hood parts or battery enclosures?

Exterior body panels and closures earn the most, 25.0% of 2025 automotive composites value or about USD 3.90 billion, Douglas Insights estimates. Battery enclosures and electric vehicle structures grow fastest, at 10.4% a year to USD 5.04 billion by 2035.

Exterior panels lead because tailgates, bumper beams, spoilers, truck cab roofs and pickup boxes are moulded in sheet moulding compound (SMC) or long glass fibre polypropylene in very large numbers. Their 25.0% share grows 5.0% a year to USD 6.35 billion by 2035 as carmakers keep swapping steel tailgates for plastic ones to save 3 to 5 kilograms each, a Douglas Insights estimate. Powertrain and under-hood parts, USD 3.74 billion, cover glass-filled polyamide intake manifolds, engine covers, oil pans and cooling-module carriers; they grow only 4.6% because each combustion engine that leaves the fleet takes its intake and oil-system parts with it.

Interior structures and trim, USD 2.96 billion, include door modules, seat backs and instrument-panel carriers, many in natural fibre or glass-mat thermoplastic; they also grow 4.6%. Structural and chassis parts, USD 2.34 billion, grow 6.4% as leaf springs, cross-car beams and front-end carriers move to composites. Battery enclosures and EV structures, USD 1.87 billion, grow fastest at 10.4% because every battery pack needs a lid, a tray or fire shields, and glass-reinforced SMC lids are about 40% lighter than steel ones, a Douglas Insights estimate. Pressure vessels, USD 780 million, cover carbon-fibre tanks for compressed natural gas and hydrogen and grow 9.0%. Application values for 2035 sum to USD 28.1 billion, 0.89% above the headline.

Which fibre and resin dominate automotive composites value: glass, carbon or natural fibre?

Glass fibre composites carry about 86.0% of 2025 automotive composites value, roughly USD 13.4 billion, Douglas Insights estimates; carbon fibre takes 9.0% and natural and other fibres 5.0%. By resin, thermoplastics hold about 58% of volume.

Glass dominates because a kilogram of glass-filled polypropylene or polyamide costs about USD 2 to USD 4, while carbon fibre parts cost ten times as much, a Douglas Insights estimate. Carbon fibre, about USD 1.40 billion, is concentrated in roofs, driveshafts, premium sports cars and pressure-vessel windings; Toray put total world carbon fibre demand at 138 kilotonnes in 2025, rising to 179 kilotonnes in 2028, a 9% CAGR, at its investor day of 9 June 2026. Douglas Insights estimates about 11 kilotonnes of that went into road vehicles, mostly into tanks and premium body parts.

The resin split comes from Europe’s measured figures: of the 2,281 kilotonnes AVK counted in 2025, thermoplastics made up 1,329 kilotonnes, 58.3%, and thermosets 952 kilotonnes, down from 983 kilotonnes, while automotive took more than 60% of thermoplastic composite volume, the AVK report shows. Douglas Insights applies a similar 58:42 split worldwide. Natural fibre composites, about USD 780 million, use flax, hemp and kenaf mats in door panels and grow about 6% a year as carmakers chase recycled and bio-based content targets.

What drives automotive composites demand: battery packs, lightweighting rules or Asian vehicle output?

Composite tonnes per year rise 4.30% in our base case, from about 5.02 million in 2025 to 7.65 million in 2035. Four drivers add 5.20 gross points; restraints remove 0.90.

Battery packs and electric platforms: 1.80 points

Electric vehicles are the largest driver, worth 1.80 points. Global electric car sales grew 20% to more than 20 million in 2025, about one in four new cars, and the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects about 23 million in 2026, or 28% of car sales, its Global EV Outlook 2026 shows. In the European Union battery-electric cars took 17.4% of registrations in 2025, 1,880,370 units, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) reported on 27 January 2026. Douglas Insights estimates that a battery electric car carries about 18 kilograms more composite than a comparable combustion car, mainly in the pack lid, underbody shields and cell-module carriers.

Fuel and carbon rules that reward mass cuts: 1.40 points

Lightweighting rules add 1.40 points. China’s three mandatory fuel consumption standards took effect on 1 January 2026, tightening passenger car limits by about 18% and setting a 3.3 litres per 100 kilometres corporate average by 2030, Xinhua reported on 31 December 2025. The European Union kept its carbon dioxide targets but let carmakers average compliance over 2025 to 2027 under Regulation (EU) 2025/1214, in force from 9 July 2025. Douglas Insights estimates that every 10% cut in vehicle mass saves about 6% to 8% of energy use, which keeps glass-fibre tailgates, seat structures and front-end carriers on every new platform.

Asian vehicle production: 1.20 points

Output growth in Asia adds 1.20 points. China produced 34.53 million vehicles in 2025, up 10.4%, and new energy vehicle production passed 16 million, more than half the total, China Daily reported from China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) data on 15 January 2026. Douglas Insights estimates that Chinese vehicles carry about 47 kilograms of composite each, below the 61 kilograms in Europe, so Chinese growth adds tonnes faster than vehicle counts suggest as local brands move up-market.

Gas tanks for trucks and buses: 0.80 points

Pressure vessels add the last 0.80 points. Toray forecasts pressure-vessel carbon fibre demand to grow 17% a year from 2025 to 2028, with compressed natural gas tanks rising from 7.2 to 12.3 kilotonnes of fibre, and it is adding 3,250 tonnes a year of regular-tow capacity in Korea and 1,000 tonnes in France in the second half of 2026, its June 2026 investor day shows. Summed, 1.80 + 1.40 + 1.20 + 0.80 = 5.20 points, a Douglas Insights estimate; after 0.90 points of restraints the 4.30% tonnes leg multiplied by the 1.60% price leg gives the 5.97% revenue rate.

What holds back automotive composites: looser US rules, recycling targets or weak European output?

Three restraints remove 0.90 points a year from tonnes growth: looser US vehicle rules take 0.40 points, recycling and cost pressure 0.30 points and weak European and hydrogen demand 0.20 points.

US rules are the sharpest drag. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rescinded its 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding and repealed all light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas standards on 12 February 2026, its regulatory fact sheet states, and the Department of Transportation finalised a reset of fuel economy rules to an estimated 34.9 miles per gallon fleet average by model year 2031 on 28 September 2026. With less pressure to cut mass, Douglas Insights expects US carmakers to drop some composite parts in favour of cheaper steel on high-volume pickups and sport utility vehicles.

Recycling targets take 0.30 points. The Council of the EU adopted the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation on 29 June 2026, requiring at least 15% recycled plastic in new vehicles six years after entry into force and 25% after ten years, with at least 20% of that from scrapped vehicles, its press release states. Thermoset composites are hard to recycle into car-grade plastic, so some designers will favour recyclable thermoplastics or metals, a Douglas Insights estimate. Weak European and hydrogen demand takes the last 0.20 points: Stellantis said it would stop hydrogen activity from 2026, removing about 80% of the planned volume at Symbio, the Forvia and Michelin tank and fuel cell venture, their statement of 16 July 2025 shows.

Which region buys the most automotive composites, and where does demand grow fastest?

Asia Pacific buys the most automotive composites, about USD 7.80 billion or 50.0% of 2025 value, and grows fastest at 6.6% a year to USD 14.8 billion by 2035 on Chinese and Indian vehicle output.

Asia Pacific leads because China alone built 34.53 million of the world’s 96.4 million vehicles in 2025, the OICA release shows, and Japan, Korea and India add most of the rest. Electric vehicles took about 55% of Chinese car sales in 2025, the IEA outlook notes, so battery lids and underbody shields are already high-volume parts there. Europe, USD 3.74 billion, has the highest composite content per vehicle and the most mature recycling rules, but grows only 5.0% because its vehicle output is flat and AVK measured a 3% fall in composite production in 2025.

North America, USD 2.96 billion, grows 5.3% on SMC pickup boxes, truck cab parts and battery enclosures, although looser US rules trim the pace. Latin America, USD 702 million, grows 5.7% as Brazil and Mexico add electric and flex-fuel models, and the Middle East and Africa, USD 390 million, grow 6.5% from a small base as Morocco and South Africa expand assembly. Regional values sum to USD 16.5 billion in 2026, 0.04% below the headline, and USD 27.8 billion in 2035, 0.20% below it.

Which companies lead automotive composites, and how concentrated is supply?

No supplier holds more than about 7% of automotive composites value, Douglas Insights estimates; Toray, Teijin’s former North American parts unit, SGL Carbon, Syensqo, Celanese and OPmobility are among the largest, and the top ten hold about 35%.

Toray’s carbon fibre composite materials segment earned JPY 300.1 billion in the year to March 2026, flat, while core operating income fell 21.7% to JPY 17.6 billion and pressure-vessel demand sat in an “adjustment phase”, its results of 13 May 2026 show. AURELIUS agreed to buy Teijin Automotive Technologies North America, 14 sites in the US and Mexico with about 4,500 staff, on 31 March 2025. SGL Carbon’s sales fell 17.2% to EUR 850.2 million in 2025 and Composite Solutions dropped EUR 15.8 million on weak automotive demand, its release of 19 March 2026 states.

Syensqo’s composite materials grew 4% organically in 2025 and it expects automotive-led growth in specialty polymers in 2026, its results of 26 February 2026 show. Celanese’s Engineered Materials sales fell 4% to USD 5.39 billion, with European automotive destocking early in the year, its February 2026 results state. Owens Corning completed the sale of its glass reinforcements business to Praana Group at a USD 645 million enterprise value, its 30 April 2026 release states. None of these firms reports automotive composites alone, so shares are Douglas Insights estimates; China Jushi, Hexcel, Mitsubishi Chemical, Hanwha Azdel and Exel Composites share the long tail.

What does a kilogram of automotive composite cost, and how fast does the price rise?

A kilogram of automotive composite material sells for an average USD 3.11 in 2025, Douglas Insights estimates, from about USD 2.50 for glass-filled polypropylene to more than USD 30 for carbon fibre prepreg; the price leg rises 1.60% a year.

The blended price sits close to the glass fibre end because glass composites carry about 95% of tonnes. Douglas Insights puts SMC at about USD 3.20 per kilogram, long glass fibre thermoplastic at USD 3.00, glass mat thermoplastic at USD 3.40 and carbon fibre parts at USD 25 to USD 40. The average reaches about USD 3.16 in 2026 and USD 3.64 in 2035 as the mix shifts toward battery enclosures and carbon tanks, which cost more per kilogram than bumper beams.

Two forces set the 1.60% price leg. Mix shift toward carbon fibre and flame-retardant battery grades adds about 2.3% a year; Chinese glass fibre overcapacity and cheaper resin pull 0.70 points back. Toray’s industrial carbon fibre revenue fell 7% to JPY 153.5 billion in the year to March 2026, its May 2026 results show, a sign that fibre makers are not yet able to push list prices up.

Which rules shape automotive composites, from carbon targets to recycled-content quotas?

Three layers shape automotive composites: carbon and fuel targets such as EU Regulation 2025/1214 and China’s 1 January 2026 standards, the EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation adopted on 29 June 2026, and the US rollback of February and September 2026.

The carbon layer still pushes mass out of vehicles outside the United States. Regulation (EU) 2025/1214 let carmakers meet the 2025 fleet targets on a three-year 2025 to 2027 average, adopted on 17 June 2025, EUR-Lex shows, and China’s light commercial vehicles get their first corporate average target, 5.7 litres per 100 kilometres for petrol vans by 2030, Xinhua reported. The circularity layer is new: the European Parliament and Council reached a provisional deal on the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation on 12 December 2025, the Parliament release states, and its rules apply two years after entry into force.

The US layer moved the other way: EPA’s February 2026 repeal leaves criteria-pollutant rules in place, and the September 2026 fuel economy reset ends credit trading from model year 2028, the Department of Transportation states. Douglas Insights treats any legal challenge that restores US standards as an upside risk in the faster case.

What if electric adoption speeds up or US rules stay loose: how large is the automotive composites market in 2035?

The automotive composites market ends 2035 between USD 23.2 billion and USD 32.8 billion across three cases, around a USD 27.9 billion base. Electric vehicle adoption and the content per vehicle set most of the spread.

In the slower case US carmakers drop composite parts, European output keeps falling and hydrogen trucks stall, taking 1.30 points off tonnes and 0.60 points off price. In the faster case electric cars pass 50% of global sales before 2032 and composite battery lids become standard, adding 1.10 points to tonnes and 0.60 points to price. One extra point of yearly revenue growth adds about USD 2.74 billion to 2035 value, Douglas Insights estimates.

Company signals bracket the base case. Toray expects pressure-vessel and automotive demand to recover in the US and Europe in the year to March 2027, its May 2026 outlook states, while SGL Carbon guided 2026 sales down to EUR 720 million to EUR 770 million, its March 2026 release shows. Our 5.97% rate sits between those signals.

Douglas Exclusive: the Composite Kilograms per Vehicle Index

The Composite Kilograms per Vehicle Index is a Douglas Insights model built from 9 inputs: 4 official statistics or regulations, 4 company releases and 1 association report. It tracks how many kilograms of fibre-reinforced polymer each vehicle carries by powertrain.

The finding, a Douglas Insights estimate: the average vehicle carried about 52.1 kilograms of composite in 2025, about 47 kilograms for a combustion car and about 65 kilograms for a battery electric car. By 2035 the average rises to about 66 kilograms, and roughly 60% of the increase comes from the shift to electric platforms rather than from more composite on each car type.

The index changes how to read the next two years. If the EU recycled-content rule pushes designers toward thermoplastic battery lids, Douglas Insights expects thermoplastic share to pass 60% of volume by 2030; if US carmakers return to steel, North American content per vehicle could stall near 55 kilograms.

How does the methodology turn 5.02 million tonnes into USD 15.6 billion?

Our methodology multiplies about 5.02 million tonnes of automotive composite material by an average USD 3.11 per kilogram to reach USD 15.6 billion in 2025, then grows tonnes 4.30% and price 1.60% a year.

The model covers 6 applications, 3 fibre types, 2 resin families and 5 regions, using 54 data points, 17 sourced and 37 modelled. Tonnes come from vehicle production multiplied by composite content per vehicle, checked against AVK’s measured European volumes; price comes from published resin and fibre prices and company disclosures, all Douglas Insights estimates. Arithmetic: 5.02 million tonnes x USD 3.11 = USD 15.6 billion; USD 15.6 billion x (1.0430 x 1.0160)^10 = USD 27.9 billion. Tonnes reach about 5.24 million in 2026 and 7.65 million in 2035.

Two cross-checks agree. First, 5.02 million tonnes divided by 96.4 million vehicles gives 52.1 kilograms per vehicle, in line with the European thermoplastic and thermoset volumes AVK reports for transport. Second, Toray’s 138 kilotonnes of world carbon fibre demand bounds the carbon segment, since our 11 kilotonnes is about 8% of it. AI tools help draft the text and automated checks test the arithmetic and links; the Douglas Insights research desk chooses the sources, builds the model and approves publication, as our editorial standards explain.

Sources

1. OICA Auto industry growth shifted east in 2025 (2026)
2. AVK via polyformnext AVK market report 2025: composites production down, demand stable (2026)
3. International Energy Agency Global EV Outlook 2026: executive summary (2026)
4. ACEA New car registrations +1.8% in 2025; battery-electric 17.4% market share (2026)
5. China Daily China's auto production and sales rank first globally for 17th consecutive year (2026)
6. Toray Industries Toray consolidated results for the year to March 2026 (2026)
7. Toray Industries Toray IR Day 2026: carbon fiber composite materials (2026)
8. AURELIUS AURELIUS to acquire Teijin Automotive Technologies North America (2025)
9. SGL Carbon SGL Carbon fiscal 2025 results (2026)
10. Syensqo Syensqo fourth quarter and full year 2025 results (2026)
11. Celanese via Business Wire Celanese full year 2025 and fourth quarter earnings (2026)
12. Owens Corning via Business Wire Owens Corning completes sale of glass reinforcements business to Praana Group (2026)
13. Forvia Clarifications from Forvia and Michelin regarding the future of Symbio (2025)
14. EUR-Lex Regulation (EU) 2025/1214 amending Regulation (EU) 2019/631 (2025)
15. Council of the EU Council greenlights rules for a more circular automotive sector (2026)
16. European Parliament Circular economy: deal on new EU rules for the automotive sector (2025)
17. US EPA Final rule: rescission of the endangerment finding and vehicle GHG standards (2026)
18. US Department of Transportation Freedom Means Affordable Cars final rule (2026)
19. Xinhua China's new fuel consumption standards take effect (2025)

What counts in the automotive composites study, and what is excluded?

The study counts fibre-reinforced polymer material delivered into road vehicles, valued at the moulded-material price. Unreinforced plastics, metal parts, aircraft and rail composites and aftermarket repair kits are excluded.

The study splits value by 6 applications, 3 fibre types, 2 resin families and 5 regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa. Readers following reinforcement supply can compare our Glass Fiber Market study.