Automotive Intercooler – Adding More Power to the Vehicle

Automotive intercoolers are mechanical devices whose main function is to cool the gases after compression. These intercoolers perform the function of heat exchangers that are primarily used in those vehicles with turbocharged and supercharged engines.

The graph below shows the market size of the global automotive intercooler market that shows the market is witnessing healthy growth over the next five years in which the market reached US$21.878 billion by 2025 from US$13.212 billion in 2019. The major factors that are responsible for the promising market growth include the inclination of the people towards the enhancement of the performance of their vehicles. Thus, the increased propensity of consumers to spend on the up-gradation of vehicles is also a key factor supplementing the market growth throughout the course of the next five years. The growing disposable income also plays a significant role in shaping up the global automotive intercooler market growth in the coming years. In the growing disposable income, urbanization, and the growing middle-class population especially in the developing economies of the world has led to an upsurge in the demand for vehicles across countries such as China and India. Also, the increasing youth population has also led to an increased demand for intercoolers as the growing enthusiasm regarding aftermarket modifications in the vehicles for performance enhancements has further bolstered the adoption of aftermarket turbochargers and superchargers. Therefore, anticipated to be a major factor bolstering the global automotive intercooler market growth.

global automotive intercooler market, forecasts from 2019-2025, in us$ billion

automotive intercooler market

Source: Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence Estimates

Participation by Key Market Players

The market for automotive intercoolers is also poised to grow on account of the constant participation by the major players of the market in the form of product launches, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions among others. The constant participation of the players with an aim to capture a larger market share and gain a competitive edge over other players further shows the potential for the market to grow during the next five years. For example, in October 2018, Honeywell Garrett announced the launch of its latest intercooler product made, Aluminum Intercooler For 2.3L EcoBoost Mustangs. This intercooler as claimed by the company is more efficient than the stock systems installed by the company and offers a 30% reduction in pressure along with offering a 40 degrees Fahrenheit reduction in inlet temperatures versus the stock setup.

Recent COVID-19 Outbreak

The recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease is anticipated to be a major factor that is playing a significant role in shaping up the global automotive intercooler market growth especially during the period of the next eight to ten months. The outbreak has led to a decline in the demand for automobiles also, the halt in the manufacturing activities around the globe as the several government guidelines to contain the outbreak of the disease has led to a temporary halt in the activities across several industries. Thereby, the halt in automobile production is hampering the demand for intercoolers as well. Furthermore, the cancellation of various car racing events and car adventure sports due to the outbreak of coronavirus is also anticipated to inhibit the demand for aftermarket high-performance systems, thereby projected to negatively impact the demand for intercoolers during the short run. Also, the economic breakdown has also led to a decline in automotive sales, which is also moderately restraining the market growth for automotive intercoolers.

Booming Adoption of Electric and Hybrid Cars

The global automotive intercooler market is projected to be restrained by the fact that there is a constant increase in the adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles in all the segments throughout the globe. The penetration of electric sports cars with similar features as conventional sports cars will lead a decline in the demand for turbochargers, this, in turn, is projected to hamper the demand for intercoolers, thereby playing a significant role in inhibiting the market growth during the long run. Furthermore, several governments around the globe have taken several initiatives to promote the sale of electric vehicles across various countries to curb carbon emissions. Also, numerous government incentives schemes is further emanating the adoption of e-mobility, thereby anticipated to slow down the market growth in the long run.

Segment Overview:

The global automotive intercooler market has been segmented on the basis of type, vehicle type, engine type, and geography. On the basis of type, the segmentation of the market has been done into, air-to-liquid and air-to-air. On the basis of vehicle type, the market has been distributed into passenger vehicle, light commercial vehicle, and heavy commercial vehicle. By engine type, the market has been segmented into supercharged and turbocharged. Geographically, the classification of the market has been done into North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.

By vehicle type, the passenger car segment is expected to hold a substantial share in the market throughout the forecast period. The major factors supporting the significant share of this segment include the presence of a considerably large proportion of passenger cars than other vehicle segments. Also, there had been a decent increase in the production of passenger vehicles which a key factor adding up to the growth of this segment.

Global automotive production, passenger cars, 2014-2018

automotive intercooler market

Source: OICA

The above figure represents the total number of passenger car unites produced throughout the globe from 2014 to 2018.

Furthermore, the light commercial vehicle segment is expected to show decent growth on account of the growth in the production of LCVs due to the growing e-commerce sector in both developed and developing economies of the globe such as India, China, and Indonesia among others. The booming transport and logistics sector is also a major factor that is augmenting the demand for light commercial vehicles, which in turn, is projected to propel the production in the coming years, thus boosting the growth of this segment throughout the forecast period. For instance, the production of LCVs globally increased from 14,767,988 units per year in 2010 to 21,072,296 (Source: International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers).