Aftermarket Seen Hitting $3.6 Billion In 2008

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 4/4/2005

CLEVELAND — The total market for car entertainment systems will reach $9.8 billion in North American aftermarket and OEM sales combined, by 2008, according to new research by The Freedonia Group here.

The Freedonia Group predicts that aftermarket car A/V products will increase 5.8 percent annually to $3.6 billion in 2008, and OEM entertainment products will increase 6.5 percent annually to $5.9 billion at that time.

Examined by product category, total OEM and aftermarket DVD player sales combined will reach $2 billion in 2008, satellite radio systems will also hit a combined $2 billion, and audio systems with compression technology such as MP3/WMA will reach $1.2 billion. Hard-disk-drive (HDD) A/V systems, considered a high growth area, will reach $740 million in combined sales by 2008, said Freedonia.

Freedonia is predicting the car A/V market may make a dramatic shift over to HDD devices in the future. The introduction of A/V servers “could signal a paradigm shift in entertainment system technologies. The increasing robustness of micro HDD technologies should allow entertainment system suppliers to dramatically expand the services provided without the addition of bulky new hardware,” said a study from the company.

The Freedonia report also found that “conventional” audio systems, such as AM/FM radio, cassette and CD players, and MP3-capable CD players, “will as a group experience market share declines as new technologies such as satellite radio and hard drive-equipped entertainment systems are introduced. One necessary clarification is that these newer entertainment system technologies will likely include some or all of the conventional audio system technologies.”

Auto Entertainment System OEM Demand (in North America, in $ million U.S.)

Item	1993	1998	2003	2008*	2013*
North American OEM Demand	2,260	3,290	4,260	5,850	7,600
Conventional Audio	2,260	3,290	3,590	2,110	790
DVD Players	--	--	450	1,280	2,510
Satellite Radio	--	--	170	1,050	1,450
MP3/WMA-Equipped Systems	--	--	40	920	1,750
Hard-Disk-Drive Systems	--	--	10	490	1,100
*projected Source: The Freedonia Group, Inc. ©TWICE 2005

Auto Entertainment System Aftermarket Demand (in North America, in $ million U.S.)

Item	1993	1998	2003	2008*	2013*
North American Aftermarket Demand	1,150	1,970	2,710	3,600	4,500
Conventional Audio	1,150	1,890	2,125	1,450	735
DVD Players	neg	80	500	700	1,100
Satellite Radio	--	--	60	900	1,300
MP3/WMA-Equipped Systems	--	--	15	300	865
Hard-Disk-Drive Systems	--	--	10	250	500
*projected Source: The Freedonia Group, Inc. ©TWICE 2005