Globally, plastics are rapidly replacing steel as a preferred material for making vehicle components. Plastic provides lightweight, versatile designs in electrical, electronic, and lighting applications, enhancing new styling opportunities. Versatility is core to plastics' beauty, allowing for efficient design changes in single piece or modular components, reducing manufacturing costs and enhancing vehicle affordability. Several components are still made of steel; hence there is room for replacing metal with plastics in automotives. In Europe, roughly 20% of the weight of a car is engineering plastic, while in India it is just 10%. The increased use of plastic for weight reduction is a global trend. If 10% weight is reduced, 25 kg of CO2 emission will be reduced in the lifetime of a car. Global automotive plastics market is projected to cross 12.7 mln tons by 2015, as per Global Industry Analysts, Inc. Europe represents the largest market for automotive plastics. Asia-Pacific represents the fastest growing automotive plastics market, exhibiting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% over the analysis period. Automotive polypropylene market represents the largest product segment with Europe being the largest market within the segment. Automotive unsaturated polyester market represents the fastest growing segment over the analysis period. Automakers today aim for manufacturing lighter vehicles and contribute to optimum fuel consumption. Plastics emerged as a means for reducing the car weight and achieving fuel efficiency. Properties such as corrosion resistance, lightweight, durability, resiliency and toughness spurred use of plastics in automotive parts such as fenders, doors, and bumpers. On the flip side, applicability of plastics in automotives is limited as engineers lack required expertise for using plastics in structural and powertrain body panels. Automotive plastics also pose health and environmental challenges. Halogenated organic chemicals such as brominated flame-retardants (BFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) are non-biodegradable, toxic and are associated with health problems. Further, the deepening recession trend across global markets has created an environment of uncertainty for automakers. Escalating costs of raw materials, increased problems in manufacturing process and limited approval of credit from banks have worsened business conditions for automakers around the world. 11 months of domestic car sales break 12 mln, is expected to more than 13 mln sales throughout the year, China became the world’s largest car producer and the largest car consumer market. The rapid development of automotive industry has spearheaded the development of automotive plastics. Consumption of thermoplastic and thermoset compounds in China’s automotive marketplace is estimated at roughly 330,000 tons in 2000, and is projected to grow to 815,000 tons in 10 years, according to a new study published by BRG Townsend, Inc. As China’s economy continues to grow at near double-digit rates and people aspire to adopt western life styles, automobiles likely will replace bicycles as the principal mode of transportation. Chinese producers are positioning themselves to capture a share of the expected value. However, the extent and timing of this step-change remain major question marks, dependant as much by political and external factors as by potential consumer demand. The Chinese government’s tenth five-year plan calls for the output of vehicles to reach 3.2 mln by 2005. The growth rate for sedans alone is expected to be 12.7% AAGR. Raw material suppliers are setting up joint venture and wholly-owned compounding operations, although imported resins and resin compounds still predominate in many automotive uses. Domestic producers continue to form new joint ventures with both multinational tier suppliers and OEM car companies at a dizzying rate. Plastics are continuously replacing metal and glass in automobile applications in South Africa as they are light-weight, inexpensive, and can be blended and moulded for most applications. The integration of plastics has been instrumental in the automotive industry's ability to develop high performance vehicles with improved safety features and fuel economy. Analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that the market earned revenues of US$157.3 mln in 2009 and estimates this to reach US$207.7 mln in 2016. The plastic types covered in this research service are polypropylene (PP), polyurethane (PU), polyamides (PA), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC). The most significant driver for automotive plastics is the cost-reduction implication as a result of using plastics instead of its more expensive metal and glass counterparts. Since consumer buying power is still low with the global economy emerging from the financial crisis, low-cost vehicles will ensure increased vehicle sales. Structural reinforcements combine the functionalities of metal with weight reductions of plastics application, resulting in weight shedding of up to 50%. Other safety features such as seat belts, air bags and air bag containers have also been developed. Safety features will continue to drive innovation in plastics applications, providing a sustained impetus for the inclusion of engineering plastics in the production of automotive vehicles. However, the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 has resulted in the automotive sector significantly reducing production. Despite the economy gradually stabilising, consumer buying power remains low, resulting in sluggish growth in the automotive sector and a consequent low demand for automotive plastics. Although the automobile industry is expected to suffer low demand as a result of decreased purchasing power in the short-term, the automobile production and innovation processes will drive demand through the long term. Greater use of plastics in vehicles to substitute metals and glass is vital to reduce the manufacturing costs and subsequently the cost of the vehicle. The market drivers allow for easy entry with low capital costs. Manufacturers who keep abreast of the latest technological advancements and applications will be the suppliers of choice.