Global market review of vehicle instrumentation and cockpits – forecasts to 2016

The number of instruments in vehicles has increased over the years as they have become more complex and the instruments themselves have become cheaper. The big increase has been in event-controlled indications, such as lights which actuate to show warnings for indicators, low oil pressure and high lighting beam.

Manufacturers report that, besides the traditional information available, additional safety-related systems such as cameras and sensor-based messages are becoming more relevant, recognised and valued by the end consumer. Given that the area in front of the driver is limited, cockpit designers must determine how the information should be broken down between a cluster location, centre stack, head-up display and rear-view mirror.

Although there can be no doubt that drivers of the future will be better informed with a raft of new instrumentation, there is some concern as to whether their instrument panels will be a safe place to deliver the information.

In this fifth-edition report, we review the key market drivers for vehicle instrumentation and cockpits, and updates the market analysis. Following our market overview in Chapter 1, our product fitment forecasts in Chapter 2 The market, predict how the vehicle instrument cluster, panel and cockpit market will evolve in Europe, Japan, China and North America from 2006 through 2016. The data includes market volumes and values for these regions/countries.

The chapter reviews the major OE suppliers and their latest activities in this sector [Calsonic Kansei, Denso, Faurecia, International Automotive Components (IAC), Inteva Products, Johnson Controls, Magna, and Visteon].

This chapter provides long and detailed Q&As with senior executives of Yazaki North America, Johnson Controls, Visteon and 3M.

Also included are our 2008 percentage market shares for assembled cockpits and instrument panels in Europe and North America.

Chapter 3 Technical review
In 2009, Johnson Controls commenced supplying Ford with its so-called SmartGauge with EcoGuide reconfigurable instrument cluster for the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrid sedans. The instrument cluster offers four levels of information which can be customised to suit the driver’s needs or situation. Johnson Controls states: "The vehicle’s long-term fuel efficiency can be displayed in two ways – either as a traditional chart or using an innovative display that shows ‘growing leaves and vines’ on the right side of the cluster. The more efficient a driver is, the more lush, green and beautiful the leaves and vines, creating a visual reward for the individual’s efforts."

This chapter sets out a review of recent innovations in this arena. Techologies reviewed include: head-up displays (HUDs), reconfigurable displays, and consumer electronics (CE) device integration. The chapter includes Q&As with Yazaki North America, and 3M.

Chapter 4 Manufacturers
This chapter provides provides profiles of the major manufacturers, namely Calsonic Kansei, Denso, Faurecia, International Automotive Components, Inteva Products, Magna International, Johnson Controls and Visteon.