Additives are used to make plastic flexible, aesthetic, and durable. The use of plastics in the automotive industry is on the rise, owing to the need of reducing the overall weight of the vehicle. Plastic additives in the automotive industry have various applications from anti-scratch materials to protection from ultraviolet rays. The use of plastics in the automotive industry has led to the growth of the automotive additives market.

The vendor DIVE provides information about the major players that offer additives for plastics and analysis on how well each market vendor performs within predefined DIVE criteria. The vendor evaluations are based on two broad categories—product offering and business strategy. Each category carries various criteria based on which the vendors are evaluated. The evaluation criteria considered under product offering includes the breadth of offering, product innovation, and market presence (OEM and aftermarket). The evaluation criteria considered under business strategy include reach (by geographic presence), revenue growth, infrastructure and key clients channel, inorganic growth (by partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions), and organic growth.

Visionary Leaders considered have a strong portfolio of plastic additives. These vendors have been marking their presence in the additives market by offering highly advanced, customized, and easily deployable solutions for the OEMS, coupled with their robust business strategy to achieve constant growth in the plastic additives market.

The dynamic companies have an innovative portfolio of solutions. They also have an extensive network of channel partners to increase the deployment of their solutions across a multitude of vertical markets. Over the years, the dynamic vendors have been consistently generating positive revenue growth in the automotive additives market, and their market position is boosted by the organic and inorganic ventures, undertaken by them over the period.

The innovators have an innovative portfolio of plastic additives and a robust potential to build strong business strategies for their business growth to be at par with the vanguards. These vendors have been consistently offering additives to customers to fulfill their demands. Innovators have been at the forefront in deploying their solutions.

Most of the emerging vendors have been undertaking multiple acquisitions and boosting their sales capabilities across various regions to offer solutions to a wide range of clients. The automotive applications that have been considered are exterior, interior, under the hood and electronics & electricals. The market has been segmented based on region into Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. The exterior application is further classified as bumper, grille, fender, headlamp, and auto trim. The interior application is classified into steering wheel, interior door panel, carpet, headliner, sun visor, and dashboard. Under the hood application segment is categorized into battery case and others (hoses, air filters, and other components) while electronics & electrical are classified into the instrument cluster, telematics, infotainment, and wire & cable. The interior application segment is estimated to be the largest market in 2017, by value, followed by the exterior, electronics & electricals and under the hood application segments. The Asia-Pacific market is expected to be the highest growing market followed by North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. This is due to the huge amount of vehicle production in countries such as China and India. Ergonomic design will drive the interior and exterior market over the forecast period. The use of lightweight composites to attain fuel efficiency is poised to drive the market for automobiles in emerging markets such as India and China. Increased use of plastics in the automotive industry is one of the key factors in driving the growth of plastic additives.