The global automotive relay market was valued at USD 10.00 billion in 2017 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period. Automotive relays are used to enable a low amperage circuit to switch on or off a higher amperage circuit in vehicles such as cars, trucks, and buses. Automotive relays are located throughout the electrical systems in vehicles for permitting a small current flow circuit to control a higher current circuit. The different types of automotive relays include change over, normally open, potted, flasher, skirted, time delay, and dual open contact among others.

The major driving factors of the Automotive Relay Market include growing automotive industry, and increasing modernization of vehicles. The introduction of government regulations for road and vehicular safety supports the growth of the market. The growing demand for luxury vehicles, rising adoption of electric vehicles, and increasing penetration of automotive safety technology has accelerated the adoption of automotive relays. The growing electronic components in vehicles, and increasing preference of consumers towards electronic relays over electromagnetic relays boosts the growth of the automotive relay market. The increasing demand of technologically advanced vehicles from countries such as China, U.S, and Western Europe also increases the demand of automotive relay systems.

Segment Analysis

The global automotive relay market is segmented on the basis of relay type, vehicle type, application, and geography. Based on the relay type, the market is segmented into signal relay, time relay, plug-in relay, PCB relay, protective relay, high voltage relay, and others. The PCB relay segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period owing to its wide applications in ABS, cruise control, power steering, power windows, and sunroof among others.

The vehicle types include passenger vehicles, electric vehicles, and commercial vehicles. The electric vehicles segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period. The factors driving the growth of this segment include increasing environmental concerns, growing modernization of vehicles, and favorable government regulations to support the adoption of electric vehicles. The application segment is divided into lighting, air conditioning, power windows, central lock, engine management, and others.

Regional Analysis

The automotive relay market comprises a detailed geographic distribution of the market across North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and MEA. North America is further segmented into U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Europe is divided into Germany, UK, Italy, France, and Rest of Europe. Asia-Pacific is bifurcated into China, India, Japan, and Rest of Asia-Pacific. Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share in the global Automotive Relay market in 2017. Rising demand of motor vehicles along with high penetration of electric vehicles in the region supports the market growth. The introduction of stringent government regulations for vehicular and road safety also increases the demand for automotive relay in the region.

Competitive Landscape

The vendors in the market are launching new products to meet the growing customer needs. In addition, the leaders in the market are acquiring and collaborating with top companies in the market to enhance their offerings in the market and expand their customer base. The Automotive Relay market is highly competitive with the presence of a large number of small and large vendors. The leading players in the Automotive Relay Market include Delphi Automotive PLC, Denso Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, ABB Group, Eaton Corporation, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., Robert Bosch GmbH, NEC Corporation, Siemens AG, and TE Connectivity Ltd. among others.