Shock absorbers vary widely in their detail design if not in their external appearance. For the last decade or so, the high-end technical emphasis has been on developing shock absorbers in which the damper rate can be varied according to the road conditions, to avoid the compromise in which damping, soft enough to feel comfortable on rough road, can create a nauseous ‘floating’ sensation on near-smooth but slightly undulating surfaces. Most designs have concentrated on computer-controlling the opening and closing of valves which bring additional damper orifices into operation, thus the firmest rate exists with all valves closed.

In referring to adaptive damping systems, David Hunt, general manager, Vehicle Dynamics Division, Chassis Systems, Light Vehicle Systems, ArvinMeritor, told just-auto: “We feel that adaptive damping systems offer an improved safety element in addition to the comfort factor that most manufacturers tout to the consumer. These systems can change the tyre contact patch loads for improved handling and stability working in conjunction with the ESC and ABS systems. When adaptive damping is integrated with our Active Air System this will further increase vehicle stability and handling.”

In this, the expanded fifth edition of our global market review of shock aborbers, just-auto reviews the key market drivers for shock absorbers. We've updated the market analysis and we provide a review of the latest technical innovations in the sector. 

Given the current state of the industry, just-auto has completely revised its estimates and forecasts of the shock absorber market volumes and values. This report therefore sets out our revised forecasts for passenger car vehicle assembly in North America, Western Europe and Japan from 2005 through to 2016. In addition, and given the sheer volatility of the global economy at present, we have set out an ‘expected’, ‘best case’ and ‘worst case’ scenario applied to shock absorbers. On balance, we believe this will provide a more realistic framework for our component forecasts.

Following our market overview in Chapter 1, just-auto’s product fitment forecasts in Chapter 2 predict the market (by volume and value) for shock absorbers fitted to passenger cars assembled in North America, Western Europe and Japan. This chapter also sets out OE market share estimates for shock absorbers in Europe, North America, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and South Korea. It includes exclusive interviews with senior executives at ArvinMeritor, KYB, Magneti Marelli and ZF. We also round-up what's been happening in the emerging markets.

Chapter 3 Technical review
This chapter sets out a review of recent innovations in this arena, discussing technical trends such as electronic damping, new material advancements and continuously variable systems.

Chapter 4 provides profiles of the major manufacturers, namely ArvinMeritor, KYB, Showa Corp, Tenneco, ThyssenKrupp Bilstein and ZF Friedrichshafen.

This report is also available as an Intelligence Set. This is a value for money bundle that consists of the report, plus manufacturer or supplier profiles.

 

Read more about this report with just-auto's research article here

Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 The market
Market players
ArvinMeritor
Q&A with ArvinMeritor
Delphi
Hitachi
KYB
Q&A with KYB
Magneti Marelli
Q&A with Magneti Marelli
Showa Corp
Tenneco
ThyssenKrupp Bilstein
ZF Friedrichshafen AG
Q&A with ZF
Emerging markets
China
India
Russia
Market shares
Global market
European market
North American market
Japanese market
South Korean market
Market forecasts

Chapter 3 Technical review
Defining the elements
Technical trends

Chapter 4 Manufacturers
ArvinMeritor
KYB
Showa Corp
Tenneco
ThyssenKrupp Bilstein
ZF Friedrichshafen AG

List of figures
Figure 1: Global market shares for OE shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)
Figure 2: European market shares for OE passive shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)
Figure 3: European market shares for OE active shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)
Figure 4: North American market shares for OE active and passive shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)
Figure 5: Brazilian market shares for OE shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)
Figure 6: Argentinean market shares for OE shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)
Figure 7: Japanese market shares for OE shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)
Figure 8: South Korean market shares for OE shock absorbers for passenger cars and light trucks, 2008 (% of volume)

List of tables
Table 1: OE market volume of shock absorbers for passenger cars only, assembled in North America, Western Europe and Japan, 2005-2016, expected, best and worst case scenarios (units ‘000s)
Table 2: OE market value of shock absorbers for passenger cars only, assembled in North America, Western Europe and Japan, expected, best and worst case scenarios, 2005-2016 (EUR ‘000s)
Table 3: OE market volume of electronic shock absorbers for passenger cars only, worldwide, expected, best and worst case scenarios, 2005-2016 (units ‘000s)
Table 4: OE market value of electronic shock absorbers for passenger cars only, worldwide, expected, best and worst case scenarios, 2005-2016 (EUR ‘000s)
Table 5: KYB manufacturing locations worldwide, 2009
Table 6: Tenneco Inc’s net sales by segment, 2001-2008 (US$m)
Table 7: Tenneco Inc’s percentage of net sales of ride control equipment for certain geographic areas, 2001-2008 (%)