Automotive Piston Rings Market: Introduction
- Demand for automotive piston rings is increasing at a rapid pace in the automotive industry in order to avoid the presence of excess fuel in the engine cylinder. Piston rings are fitted in grooves on the outer perimeter of a piston of a reciprocating engine.
- Key functions of piston rings include sealing the combustion chamber, transfer of heat generated in the combustion chamber to cylinder wall, and control the oil consumption of an engine. Piston rings come in contact with the cylinder wall and have to withstand constant pressure during the operation of the engine. They create a barrier between the combustion chamber and cylinder through an applied and inherent pressure force.
- A two-stroke engine contains two piston rings, while a four-stroke engine contains three piston rings. The piston ring closest to the cylinder head is called compression ring, followed by a scraper (wipe) ring, while the third ring is called oil control ring. The oil control ring is not present in a two-stroke engine, since oil is fed along with gasoline directly into the combustion chamber.
Key drivers of global automotive piston rings market
- A compression piston ring transfers the heat generated in the combustion chamber to the cylinder wall, which amounts to approximately 70% of the total heat generated in the combustion chamber. This ring is subjected to constant pressure during the operation of the engine owing to fuel combustion and gases formed in the combustion chamber. When a compression ring wears out or malfunctions, the gases generated after combustion are likely to pass through the combustion chamber, causing an imbalance in the air-fuel mixture ratios. This, in turn, leads to inefficient fuel combustion, causing an increase in emissions of gases such as CO2 and NOX. Stringent rules and legislations regarding air pollution are being enacted in countries worldwide. For instance, China Air Pollution Control Law, China, Environment Protection Act, India and the Air Pollution Control Act, Japan among others are being enforced in order to reduce air pollution.
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, USA has passed a federal regulation that mandates automakers to increase fuel-efficiency of their vehicles. These regulations are driving the development of automotive piston rings that are thermal-efficient and can withstand larger pressures subjected by combustion chambers, preventing leakage of gases from combustion chambers.
- Rise in trend toward manufacture of a lightweight internal combustion engine prompts the downsizing of various IC-engine components including engine cylinder, piston, piston rings, crank, and crank shaft. For instance, using a cast aluminum alloy piston and stainless steel piston rings reduces the weight of an ICE assembly. This reduced weight is likely to increase the fuel-efficiency of an engine and subsequently, boost the automotive piston ring market.
- Lightweight piston rings fit tightly against the cylinder wall, ensuring a tightly sealed combustion chamber, which also prevents oil from entering the combustion chamber, and subsequently, reducing oil consumption. This, in turn, prevents leakage of combustion gases from the combustion chamber, resulting in optimal fuel consumption, thereby propelling the automotive piston ring market.
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Increasing popularity of electric vehicles to hamper automotive piston rings market
- Air pollution caused due to emissions from automotive and other industries is major reason for poor air quality and climate change, which results in global warming. This has prompted governments, organizations, and regulatory authorizes across the globe to enact stringent rules and regulations on vehicles and industries to curb air pollution.
- Consequently, automakers are investing heavily on research and development of electric vehicles. For instance, BMW, Audi, Hyundai, Toyota are a few key players who have tested their electric vehicles.
- Electric vehicles do not use gasoline or diesel for engine propulsion. These vehicles emit neither gases nor pollutants. Furthermore, the cost per mile for an electric vehicle is significantly low, as compared to that of traditional gasoline or diesel operated engines. Therefore, preference toward electrical vehicles is rising, globally, which in turn is likely to hamper the global automotive piston rings market.
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Asia Pacific to account for significant share of global automotive piston rings market
- Total sales of two-wheelers in the world stood at approximately 62 million units in 2018. Of these 62 million units, countries in Asia Pacific, such as India, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, accounted for approximately 21.5 million, 15.5 million, 6.38 million, and 3.39 million units, respectively, contributing to the large share of total global sales of two wheelers.
- Presence of a large number of domestic OEMs and aftermarket players in Asia Pacific who manufacture two-wheeler, passenger cars, and commercial vehicles and stringent government norms & regulations enacted in countries in Asia Pacific to curb air pollution are key factors propelling the demand for fuel-efficient ICEs and their components.
- All the factors mentioned above are projected to significantly boost the automotive piston rings market in Asia Pacific