Automotive Steering System Market

Carmakers built 96,383,650 motor vehicles worldwide in 2025, up 4% from 92,723,280 in 2024, with China alone producing 34,530,738, up 10%, according to the OICA 2025 production statistics, and every one of those vehicles left the line with a steering system. The automotive steering system market covers the hardware and embedded software that turn a driver’s or a computer’s command into a road-wheel angle: column-type, pinion-type and rack-type electric power steering (EPS), hydraulic and electro-hydraulic power steering, manual columns, racks and intermediate shafts, and the new steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering systems, sold to vehicle makers and to the replacement trade. Douglas Insights sizes it at USD 30.7 billion in 2025, about 96.4 million vehicles built multiplied by USD 318 of steering revenue per vehicle, and at USD 45.5 billion in 2035, a 4.04% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). The study sits in our automotive and transportation coverage, beside the Automotive Steering Angle Sensor Market, Automotive Software Market and Automotive Parking System Market reports; every figure follows the Douglas Insights research methodology.

Which steering technology earns the most: rack EPS, column EPS or hydraulic systems?

Rack-type electric power steering earns the most, 34.0% of 2025 steering value or about USD 10.4 billion, Douglas Insights estimates. Steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering grow fastest, at 18.8% a year to 2035.

Rack-type EPS leads because it is the only electric layout that delivers the 12 to 16 kilonewtons of rack force a large sport utility vehicle, a pickup or a heavy battery electric car needs, and those vehicles carry the highest content per unit. At 4.60% a year it reaches USD 16.3 billion by 2035, a Douglas Insights estimate. Column-type EPS, USD 9.20 billion, puts the assist motor inside the cabin on the steering column; it is cheap and compact, and it dominates small cars in India, Japan and China, but grows only 2.80% a year as the vehicle mix shifts upward in weight.

Hydraulic and electro-hydraulic steering, USD 3.83 billion, shrinks 3.50% a year to USD 2.68 billion, surviving mainly in heavy trucks, buses and older light-vehicle platforms. Pinion-type EPS, USD 3.37 billion, grows 3.60% on compact and mid-size cars. Manual columns, racks and intermediate shafts, USD 2.76 billion, grow 1.20%, because even an electric system still needs a column, a shaft and a rack. Steer-by-wire and rear-wheel steering, only USD 1.07 billion, grow 18.8% a year to USD 6.01 billion. Technology values for 2035 sum to USD 45.1 billion, 1.05% below the headline.

What drives automotive steering system demand: Chinese output, electrification or by-wire chassis?

Automotive steering system volume rises 1.60% a year in our base case, from about 96.4 million vehicles in 2025 to 113 million in 2035. Three drivers add 2.40 points of gross volume growth before restraints remove 0.80 points.

Chinese vehicle output and export platforms: 1.10 points

Chinese production is the largest driver, worth 1.10 points. China built 34,530,738 vehicles in 2025, up 10%, or 35.8% of the world total, and Asian output carried almost all of global growth, the OICA 2025 statistics show. Nexteer said 34% of its US$4.9 billion of 2025 bookings came from Chinese carmakers and that its Asia Pacific revenue reached a record US$1.5 billion, up 9.8%, in its 2025 annual results of 24 March 2026. Each extra million Chinese vehicles adds about USD 290 million of steering value at the regional average, a Douglas Insights estimate.

Electrification and the end of engine-driven pumps: 0.80 points

Electric cars add 0.80 points. Global electric car sales exceeded 20 million in 2025, up about 20% and roughly one in four new cars, and are projected to reach about 23 million in 2026, or 28% of car sales, the IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 states. A battery electric car has no engine to drive a hydraulic pump, so every one needs electric assist, and its heavier battery pushes the design from a column unit worth about USD 250 toward a rack unit worth about USD 520, Douglas Insights estimates. Half of Nexteer’s 2025 bookings, 50%, were on fully electric or split electric and combustion platforms, its results state.

By-wire chassis and automated driving: 0.50 points

Steer-by-wire adds the last 0.50 points. Nexteer made its first two steer-by-wire production launches, in China and Mexico, within 28 launches in the first half of 2026, 17 of them on fully electric platforms, its interim results of 12 August 2026 show. Level 2 and Level 2+ driver assistance also needs redundant motors, dual power feeds and dual controllers in the steering gear, which lifts unit content by about USD 60 to USD 90, a Douglas Insights estimate. Summed, 1.10 + 0.80 + 0.50 = 2.40 points; after restraints, the 1.60% volume leg multiplied by the 2.40% price leg gives the 4.04% revenue rate.

What holds back the automotive steering system market: weak Western output, recalls or price pressure?

Three restraints remove 0.80 points a year from automotive steering system volume growth: flat European and North American production takes 0.40 points, recall and warranty costs 0.15 points, and carmaker price pressure 0.25 points.

Western output is the heaviest drag. ZF, one of the three largest steering suppliers, reported 2025 sales of EUR 38.8 billion against EUR 41.4 billion in 2024, only 0.6% organic growth and a net loss of EUR 2.15 billion, and guided 2026 sales only above EUR 38 billion, its full-year release of 19 March 2026 shows. Bosch’s Mobility sector was flat in nominal terms at EUR 55.8 billion in 2025, up 2.9% after currency effects, Autocar Professional reported from its 2026 annual press conference. Douglas Insights holds European steering volume to about 0.8% a year on these signals.

Recalls are the second drag. Tesla recalled 376,241 Model 3 and Model Y vehicles of the 2023 model year in February 2025 because an overvoltage in the power steering circuit board could cut assist, a fault fixed by software, its NHTSA filing 25V092 shows. FCA US recalled 265,512 RAM ProMaster vans on 29 September 2026 because water could enter the steering wiring harness and shut off assist, its NHTSA filing 26V621 states. Such campaigns push carmakers toward longer validation and dual-sourced electronics, worth 0.15 points of lost volume. Annual price-downs of 1% to 3% demanded by carmakers, sharpest from Chinese brands, take the final 0.25 points, a Douglas Insights estimate.

Which region buys the most automotive steering systems, and where does value grow fastest?

Asia Pacific buys the most automotive steering system value, USD 15.9 billion or 52.0% of 2025 sales, and it also grows fastest, at 4.60% a year to USD 25.0 billion by 2035, on Chinese and Indian vehicle output.

Asia Pacific leads because China, Japan, India and South Korea together build well over half of the world’s vehicles, and China’s 34.5 million units in 2025 sit almost entirely on electric assist. Its value per vehicle is below the world average, about USD 290, because small cars with column EPS are common in India and Japan. Europe, USD 6.13 billion, grows 3.00% a year: its output is flat, but premium brands buy the most rear-wheel steering and the first steer-by-wire sets.

North America, USD 6.13 billion, grows 3.60%. Pickups and large sport utility vehicles there carry the heaviest rack EPS units, and Nexteer, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, drew 50% of its 2025 revenue from the region, its annual results show. Latin America, USD 1.38 billion, grows 4.00% on Brazilian and Mexican plants, and the Middle East and Africa, USD 1.07 billion, grows 4.40% from a small base in Morocco, South Africa and Türkiye. Regional values sum to USD 31.9 billion in 2026 and USD 45.6 billion in 2035, 0.25% above the headline.

Which companies lead the automotive steering system market, and how concentrated is it?

JTEKT leads the automotive steering system market with about 19.7% of 2025 value, a Douglas Insights estimate from its filed steering revenue, ahead of Nexteer at about 13.5% and ZF at about 12.0%. The top three hold about 45.2%.

JTEKT’s steering systems revenue rose 1.3% to JPY 907.6 billion in the year to 31 March 2026, about USD 6.05 billion at 150 yen to the dollar, a Douglas Insights conversion, within group revenue of JPY 1.92 trillion, up 2.2%, while operating profit fell 35.4% to JPY 24.8 billion, its results of 28 April 2026 and supplementary data show. Nexteer grew revenue 7.2% to a record US$4.6 billion in 2025, net profit 65.3% to US$102.0 million, and won US$4.9 billion of bookings across 57 programme launches; Robin Milavec said “2025 marked another year of record performance and meaningful strategic progress”, its annual results state.

HL Mando sold KRW 9,455 billion in 2025, up 6.9%, and set a 2026 order target of KRW 13 trillion, Asia Economy reported on 6 February 2026. China Automotive Systems, parent of Jingzhou Henglong, grew 2025 net sales 17.6% to US$765.7 million, with electric power steering sales up 25.5% to 41.5% of revenue, its results of 22 April 2026 show. Hyundai Mobis, Thyssenkrupp, NSK and Zhejiang Shibao make up most of the rest; because ZF, Bosch and Hyundai Mobis do not publish steering revenue, their shares, and every share in the table, are Douglas Insights estimates.

How much does a steering system cost a carmaker, and how fast does content per vehicle rise?

An automotive steering system earns an average USD 318 per vehicle built in 2025, Douglas Insights estimates, from about USD 95 for a manual set to USD 1,200 for steer-by-wire. The blended price leg rises 2.40% a year.

Carmakers buy steering as a complete corner-to-wheel module quoted per vehicle. Douglas Insights puts a manual rack, column and shaft at USD 85 to USD 110, a column-type EPS module at USD 210 to USD 280, a pinion-type EPS unit at USD 290 to USD 360, and a belt-drive rack EPS unit at USD 450 to USD 620. Hydraulic systems for heavy trucks sell at USD 600 to USD 900, and a steer-by-wire set, with a road-wheel actuator, a feedback unit and redundant controllers, at USD 1,000 to USD 1,500 in 2025. These ranges include about 8% of value from replacement racks, pumps, columns and tie-rod assemblies sold to the aftermarket.

The blended figure reaches about USD 326 per vehicle in 2026 and USD 403 in 2035. Mix drives the 2.40% rise: each vehicle that moves from column EPS to rack EPS adds about USD 270, and each one that adds steer-by-wire adds about USD 800, Douglas Insights estimates. Annual carmaker price-downs pull about 1.5 points back, which is why the price leg stays far below the 18.8% growth of the by-wire segment. Memory chips, rare-earth magnets for assist motors and steel set the cost floor.

Will China’s GB 17675-2025 standard make steer-by-wire mainstream?

Partly. China’s GB 17675-2025 steering standard, published 3 December 2025 and effective 1 July 2026, drops the rule that a mechanical link must join steering wheel and road wheels, opening the largest vehicle market to steer-by-wire.

The new standard, “Basic Requirements for Automotive Steering Systems”, replaces GB 17675-2021, references the latest UN Regulation No. 79 amendments, aligns functional safety with ISO 26262, and adds requirements for full-power steering faults and battery-ageing alarms, IT Home reported from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) posting, and Global China EV confirms the 1 July 2026 date. Before it, Nio’s ET9 had won MIIT mass-production approval for steer-by-wire in December 2024 and a UNECE E-mark through Applus IDIADA on 13 May 2025, CnEVPost reported.

Douglas Insights expects Chinese steer-by-wire fitment to reach about 6% of the country’s light vehicles by 2030 and about 14% by 2035, against roughly 0.3% in 2025. That is most of the segment’s 18.8% growth. Outside China, adoption stays slower: Lexus offers a by-wire yoke on the RZ 550e, priced at GBP 67,795 with UK deliveries from spring 2026, Autocar reported, and Mercedes-Benz puts series steer-by-wire with 10 degrees of rear-axle steering on its new EQS, its press release states, but both are premium options. The constraint is cost, at USD 800 above a rack EPS unit, not the rules.

Which rules govern automotive steering systems, from UN R79 to GB 17675 and FMVSS?

Three rule sets govern automotive steering systems: UN Regulation No. 79 in Europe, Japan and much of Asia, China’s GB 17675-2025, in force from 1 July 2026, and the US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards with their recall system.

UN Regulation No. 79 sets steering equipment rules for the contracting parties of the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29). Its 03 series already allows automatically commanded steering for lane keeping and parking within limits, and Supplement 15, adopted 34 votes to 0 in March 2026 and in force from 30 September 2026, lets a driver slow or stop remote parking manoeuvres, GlobalAutoRegs records. China’s GB 17675-2025 now lets a carmaker certify a system with no mechanical back-up if electrical redundancy meets the safety targets.

The US layer works through defects rather than type approval. FMVSS 203 and 204 limit steering-column impact and rearward movement in a crash, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) forces recalls when assist fails: General Motors recalled 934 Cadillac, Camaro and Corvette vehicles of model years 2016 to 2018 on 20 March 2025 for loss of electric assist, its NHTSA filing 25V175 shows. Functional safety under ISO 26262, with ASIL D for by-wire steering, applies in all three regions.

What if Chinese output slows or by-wire arrives early: how large is the automotive steering system market in 2035?

The automotive steering system market ends 2035 between USD 38.1 billion and USD 54.3 billion across our three cases, around a base of USD 45.5 billion. Chinese output and steer-by-wire fitment set most of the spread.

In the slower case Chinese output stalls after the 10% jump of 2025, European plants keep losing volume as ZF’s sales did, and steer-by-wire stays a premium option, cutting 1.00 point from the volume leg and 0.80 points from price. In the faster case world output grows 2.40% a year and Chinese steer-by-wire fitment passes 20% by 2035. One extra point of yearly revenue growth adds about USD 4.57 billion to 2035 value.

Company signals bracket the base case. Nexteer’s revenue grew 7.2% in 2025 and 4% in the first half of 2026, China Automotive Systems’ 17.6% and HL Mando’s 6.9%, while JTEKT’s steering revenue grew 1.3% and ZF’s group sales fell, their filings show; our 4.04% revenue rate sits inside that range, weighted toward the slower Japanese and European leaders that hold the largest shares.

Douglas Exclusive: the Steer-by-Wire Readiness Ledger

The Steer-by-Wire Readiness Ledger is a Douglas Insights model built from 10 inputs, 5 company disclosures and 5 regulatory or market records, listed below. It estimates how many vehicles a year can legally and commercially carry by-wire steering by 2030.

The finding, a Douglas Insights estimate: about 2.1 million vehicles a year could carry steer-by-wire by 2030, roughly 2% of world output, and about 85% of them would be Chinese electric cars. The rule change matters less than the electric platform: a by-wire system needs the dual 12-volt or 48-volt supply that a battery electric car already has, so Chinese electric car makers can add it for about USD 800 while a combustion platform would need a new electrical architecture.

The ledger changes how to read bookings. A steer-by-wire award from a Chinese carmaker turns into revenue within 18 to 24 months, against 36 months for a Western platform, so Douglas Insights front-loads the by-wire segment in China and back-loads it in Europe and North America.

How does the methodology turn 96.4 million vehicles into USD 30.7 billion?

Our methodology multiplies about 96.4 million vehicles built in 2025 by an average USD 318 of steering revenue per vehicle to reach USD 30.7 billion, then grows volume 1.60% and content 2.40% a year.

The model covers 6 technologies and 5 regions, using 58 data points, 19 sourced and 39 modelled. Volume comes from OICA world production; content per vehicle comes from the technology mix by region, priced at the bands in the pricing section, plus replacement parts, all Douglas Insights estimates. Arithmetic: 96,383,650 x USD 318 = USD 30.65 billion; USD 30.65 billion x (1.016 x 1.024)^10 = USD 45.5 billion. Volume reaches about 97.9 million vehicles in 2026 and 113 million in 2035.

Two cross-checks agree. First, the revenue of the six named companies, adjusted for non-steering lines, covers about 63% of our total, consistent with a market where Hyundai Mobis, Thyssenkrupp, NSK and Chinese suppliers hold most of the rest. Second, our 4.04% revenue rate sits between JTEKT’s 1.3% steering growth and Nexteer’s 7.2% growth in 2025. 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 amid global repositioning (2026)
2. Nexteer Automotive Nexteer 2025 annual results announcement (2026)
3. HKEXnews Nexteer 2026 interim results announcement (2026)
4. JTEKT JTEKT consolidated financial results, fiscal year ended March 2026 (2026)
5. JTEKT JTEKT supplementary financial data, fiscal year ended March 2026 (2026)
6. ZF Friedrichshafen ZF full-year 2025 results (2026)
7. International Energy Agency Global EV Outlook 2026: executive summary (2026)
8. NHTSA Recall 25V092: Tesla Model 3 and Model Y power steering (2025)
9. NHTSA Recall 26V621: RAM ProMaster electric power steering harness (2026)
10. NHTSA Recall 25V175: GM electric power steering assist (2025)
11. Global China EV China's new regulation enabling steer-by-wire to take effect in July 2026 (2025)
12. GlobalAutoRegs UN R79 Supplement 15 to the 03 series (2026)

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

The automotive steering system study counts steering gears, assist units, columns, intermediate shafts, embedded control software and replacement parts for light vehicles, trucks and buses, valued at supplier prices. Steering wheels, airbags, separate angle sensors and wheel-end parts are excluded.

The study splits value by 6 technologies and 5 regions: Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa. Steering angle sensors appear in our Automotive Steering Angle Sensor Market report, and anti-theft locks in our Car Steering Wheel Lock Market report.