Automotive Rear Seat Infotainment System Market: Making Travelling More Enjoyable

It is interesting to see how modernization is increasing its traction across societies worldwide. Societies in the west are witnessing a blending of cultures and lifestyles from the east into them and the societies in the east have, for long, been witnessing a continuously increasing influence of western lifestyle onto them. As this continues, preferences of people associated with all aspects, including eating, living, and travelling among others, are changing. Since vehicles account for a fairly strong position in the societies today, automakers are making all the necessary moves to align their automotive designs with the changing trends and lifestyles of people. Growing popularity of rear seat infotainment systems in vehicles can be seen as the result of automakers’ efforts to retain the significance vehicles hold in people’s lives.

A Rear Seat Infotainment System is, as the term suggests, is an entertainment system which allows passengers in the back seats to consume different types of media from a wide range of sources with high degree of convenience. A Rear Seat Infotainment System usually constitutes of two high-resolution displays which are mounted at the back of front seats’ headrest. Although the number of displays may vary from vehicle to vehicle due to different requirements of different customers, many of the vehicles have one or two displays as part of the system. Just like a compact smart television set, these displays give passengers, in the back seats, ability to consume various types of media from various sources like smartphones, tablets, and USB devices among others. Some advanced systems allow passengers to enjoy media through smart devices which are connected to the system via HDMI. This is a great functionality which allows video game enthusiasts to play their games while travelling. Since advanced Rear Seat Infotainment Systems support reliable wireless connectivity, passengers can seamlessly connect and share media between their smartphones/tablets or other mobile devices and the systems As these systems continue to evolve, customers, now, can interact with the system only through buttons, but also with dedicated remote control and even with smartphone applications which work as a remote control.

automotive rear seat infotainment system market

The global automotive rear seat infotainment system market growth is majorly attributed to rising disposable income of people in many parts of the world. Improving economic growth in many countries is improving the standard of living of many people. As the ability of people to spend increases, the demand for solutions which, till that time, were considered a luxury also increases. For instance, some of the major automakers including BMW AG, AUDI AG, Daimler AG and Jaguar Land Rover Limited among many others have been providing rear seat infotainment systems pre-fitted across many of their cars in order to provide highest degree of comfort and satisfaction to their customers. As a result, these systems had, for long, been perceived as a component of luxury rides and not for economical rides. However, entry of a good number of players offering these systems at a price which fits many people’s budget has pushed their adoption deeper into the society. People with a fairly strong spending power are seen getting their cars equipped with these systems. Not just this, many other automakers like Hyundai, Honda, Suzuki, Ford, General Motors and many others have also started offering these systems in many of their higher end models or top variants of some of their mid-range models. Although this seems a good sign for the market, a broader picture shows that the market is still struggling to strengthen its traction as automotive sales continue to slip. The figure given below shows the decline in automotive sales:

Global Automotive Sales, 2006 to 2019

automotive rear seat infotainment system market 

Source: International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers

First, the global recession of 2007-09, and then the high per capita ownership of vehicles in many countries led to a decline in automotive sales. This is hindering the market growth to some extent. However, this is not as bad as it looks like since presence of a large number of vehicles on road is increasing the aftermarket growth potential for rear seat infotainment systems. Since these systems can be installed in vehicles without much hassle, and there is a fairly vast network of workshops, which offer a wide range of these systems from different vendors and also offer installation services, people who seek to get their vehicles equipped with these systems can easily do so by taking their vehicles to a nearby vendor. This high ease of getting these systems is driving the market growth. The market is poised to show a robust growth over the next five years and this growth will majorly be fuelled by increasing popularity of connected cars and electric cars. The figure below shows the increase in the global electric car stock from 2010 till 2019:

Global Electric Car Stock, From 2010 to 2019, in Million Units

automotive rear seat infotainment system market

Source: IEA (International Energy Agency)Top of FormBottom of Form

Electric cars can be seen offering a good number of features in order to enhance customers’ experience. Some high end electric car manufacturers have already started offering rear seat infotainment systems in many variants and since these systems do not cost much to automakers, they are expected to start offering them even in mid-range vehicles over the next five years. As this happens, the demand for these systems will increase, thus propelling the market growth.

Geographically, the report, titled Global Automotive Rear Seat Infotainment System Market, from Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence has analysed the market across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific, and even in countries, which account for a considerable market share, across them.

About the Author:

Dhiraj Kumar Sharma is a Market Research Analyst at Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence. He combines his outright understanding of technologies with years of experience working in the industry to deliver actionable information to clients who span across industries and geographies. Dhiraj often works closely with clients in order to better understand their requirements and is known for the quality of market insights he delivers to them.