TPMS - Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Market

SUMMARY

What is next in the TPMS market ?

TPMS market is at a cross roads today. Several questions are raised at technical and market levels. A few challenges are happening in a market that is seeing many newcomers:

• Progress in indirect measurement systems,
• Legislation change in Europe for reducing CO2 emissions,
• Moving the sensor from the valve to the tire inlay,
• Energy harvesting devices technologies and integration.

Each point will have very strong impact on the market and would mean a market shift.

TPMS MEMS market opportunity

99% of direct TPM Systems currently use MEMS pressure sensors. If nothing changes in European or Asian legislation, the current market for TPMS pressure sensors is expected to reach $183M in 2012 from $168M in 2007, seeing a CAGR of 2% till 2012 in revenue due to a strong erosion of prices, despite an increase of 12% in volume.

Even though the market already has two leaders sharing 90% of the market, a crowd of newcomers are preparing new pressure sensors. Yet, if the European legislation makes TPMS mandatory equipment on all new cars, driven by rising concerns on CO2 emissions, the pressure sensor market would go over $300 M by 2012 (CAGR of 13% in the next 5 years).

Established vendors are looking at niche markets to sustain their revenues. TPM systems can be used on airplanes, commercial trucks, buses, recreational and off-highway vehicles and motorbikes. Some companies are focusing completely on those high margin niches, but little help is expected from the legislator there.

A market driven by legislation

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) are mandatory on all new cars sold in the United States since September 1, 2007. This regulation, initiated in 2001, has created a very fast growing market demand for TPMS since 2005, with a few players successfully making most of the sales. The market is only driven by regulation as end users are not ready to pay for TPMS despite its benefits. This explains the huge price pressure. In most cars, the OEM will only try to fulfill the NHTSA standard in its minimum version.

In Europe and Asia, the market penetration is slow and not supported yet by any regulation. The overall market growth is hence expected to be single-digit for the next 5 years, from 167M$ in 2007, unless lobbying efforts succeed in imposing TPMS in Europe or in large growing markets in Asia. This will then create a new rally of high speed growth. This factor and current technical challenges motivate still a large number of players to actively develop new systems in order to get a share of the pie.

The report also provides over 20 detailed company profiles of players in production, sampling or development. Each profile goes in depth into company TPMS activity: products, technology, processes, R&D works, partners and customers (when available).

Finally the report describes the forecasted developments for battery-less systems and tire manufacturers efforts to integrate TPMS into the tires with additional functionalities towards intelligent tires.

This report gives an accurate picture of the TPMS market today and its potential developments. It describes:

• The market drivers, the legislation frame and the different standards for TPMS
• The different technologies used in implementing TPMS and the challenges facing industrial players

Companies in the report

Actsensors, Alps Electric, BERU, Bosch, Continental, Delphi, Entire, Freescale, GE Sensing, Goodyear, Hella, Infineon Sensonor, IQMobil, Kavlico, Kyocera, Melexis, Michelin, Pacific, Pirelli, SchraderElectronics, Siemens VDO, Smartire, SMI (ELMOS), TI, Transense, VTI, Yokohama...

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Executive Summary
• Methodology
• TPMS History and motivations
  • Historical start of TPMS
  • Benefits of TPMS
• Regulations and Standards
  • Background on NHTSA regulation
  • Current NHTSA regulation
  • Other Standards and regulations
• TPMS modules, sensors and technologies
  • Direct vs indirect measurement techniques
  • Sensor based TPMS
  • Powering the wheel module
  • Resonator based TPMS
  • Comparing pressure sensing techniques
  • Data transmission
  • Sensor localization in tire
• Main players and markets
  • Market forecasts
  • Bill of components for a TPMS module
  • Main players pressure for TPMS sensors
  • Main players for TPM systems
  • Who works with whom
  • TPMS for aftermarket
• Main players profiles
• Future developments
  • Battery less TPMS
  • New functionalities
  • Tire manufacturers involvement
• Appendix
  • General overview of the MEMS Business
  • 8MEMS Manufacturing Overview
  • Key Differences between MEMS and IC Lines
  • MEMS typical flow chart
  • Micromachining technologies
  • Why integrated MEMS: from MEMS to Microsystems
  • MEMS processes challenges