Industry Brief Upsurging demand for customization using 3D printing and increased demand for vehicle production using 3D printer across the world to drive global 3D printing automotive market. According to TechSci Research report “3D Printing Automotive Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Competition, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2016- 2026”, Global 3D printing automotive market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 19.55% in value terms, in the next five years to reach USD4079.76 million by 2026. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is gaining prominence in the automotive industry due to its application in the manufacturing of automotive components. The technology can be used for manufacturing prototypes of automotive seats, and components of the exhaust system, among others. In comparison to the traditional process of manufacturing components, 3D printing process is quick with reduced overall product development time, and improved efficiency. Technologies used for 3D printing include Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), PolyJet, Digital Light Processing (DLP), Multi Jet Fusion (MJF), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS), Electron Beam Melting (EBM), etc. By utilizing 3D printing to make models a long time before the final production, automakers can test for quality prior to the actual production plan. Given the design adaptability of 3D printing, organizations can construct and test a huge variety of models. General Motors, for instance, utilizes the 3D printing technologies of specific laser sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA) widely in its preproduction and configuration processes across its functional areas— design, engineering and production with its fast-prototyping department delivering test models of more than 20,000 parts. Thus, 3D printing is expediting production in the automotive sector. Global 3D Printing Automotive market can be segmented based on material, technology, application, company and region. In terms of material, the market can be segmented into polymer, metal and others. The polymer segment led the market in 2020 with a share of 47% and the segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR through 2026. Due to flexibility and high strength, polymers are preferred over metal, thereby, driving the market through 2026. Automobiles consist of a broad range of plastic 3D printed parts and also plastic materials are used more as compared to any other materials in 3D printing methods inside the automotive industry. Additionally, materials like Acrylonitrile butadiene Styrene (ABS) filaments are one of the most frequently used plastics for 3D printing car components and are frequently used within the bodywork of vehicles. Following polymer, metal segment is anticipated to account for the largest share in 2026.Metalcan withstand hightemperature and pressure,making themthe perfect choice for the 3D printing process. Some of the major players operating globally in 3D printing automotive market are: 3D Systems, Inc., Voxeljet AG, Stratasys Ltd., Höganäs AB, EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems, GE Additive, Autodesk Inc., 3DGence, Optomec Inc., Ultimaker B.V., Materialise NV Companies operating in the 3D printing automotive market are focusing on material and software advancement so that 3D printing process is more efficient and can be used for producing high quality material. In the similar front, 3D systems announced in 2021 an agreement to acquire Oqton, a software company, with USD180 million that is a leader in the creation of new breed of intelligent, cloud-based manufacturing operating system platform. In the same year, 3D systems advanced production application by introducing high-throughput 3D printing technologies, a new partnership to provide industry-leading post- processing, improved additive manufacturing software, and new production-grade photopolymer. “North America region holds the major share in the 3D printing automotive market with 36.90% share in 2020, led by the United States, as the country holds the major share in the North America region with 76.04% share. North America is the key market in manufacturing automobiles and auto parts using 3D printing technology. The US automotive industry frequently uses 3D printing technologies for rapid prototyping. It is also commonly used for complex, high-value, or custompartsforantiquecars.Luxury andcustomized vehiclebusiness is more prominent in North America. Motorsports such as NASCAR and Formula 1 have also been a field for the application of this technology due to the high demand for performance and weight reduction in the automotive industry.”, said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm. 19 Automotive © TechSci Research 19