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Automotive Industry

Letting the Sun Shine In - North American light vehicle sunroof market - Brief Article

Automotive Industries, August, 2001 by Lora J. Bingham

There's something undeniably inviting about a sunroof. The open air feeling, the sun shining down, the envy of your neighbor... And over the last decade there have been a steadily increasing number of vehicles fitted with sunroofs in the North American light vehicle market.

Currently, about 25 percent of the vehicles sold that offer sunroofs are fitted with them. And as the U.S. market in particular becomes increasingly competitive, automakers are using sunroofs and other roof systems to help differentiate their offerings to consumers. In fact, projections show that approximately 50 percent of the vehicles on the road will have some type of altered roof system by 2010 -- which includes convertibles retractable hardtops, full- and three- quarter-glass roof modules and, of course, the traditional sunroof. It is expected that the majority of roof systems will be a traditional sunroof, though.

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Brett Healy, Webastos' vice president of strategic planning, says that a large part of the growth in the roof systems market can be attributed to SUVs. "As people moved out of various passenger cars and into SUVs, they brought along their demand for sunroofs," he explains.

Traditionally a feature associated with the luxury market, sunroofs were considered a status symbol in the 1980s. Today, the fitment rate for sunroofs tends to be fairly evenly spread amongst the luxury, intermediate, compact, sub-compact and SUV segments. Even the full-size pickup truck market is offering factory-installed sunroofs. And Healy believes midsize and compact pickups will be the next segments to integrate them. "They've found a niche as a functional item to make people feel good," he asserts.

About 78 percent of sales can be counted as "repeat business," and as customers move to vehicle types other than traditional sedans and coupes, they create a demand. "We've found that once a consumer has owned an open air roof system, there's a high probability that they will want one again," says Healy. Thus, automakers are finding that the draw of light, air and relaxation in their vehicles can be a selling point. Although, Healy points out that "the supply base is actually leading the charge. There are a lot of new inventions out there in roof systems and suppliers are the ones educating their customers and consumers about them."

Major suppliers of sunroofs and roof systems include Arvin-Mentor, ASC Inc., Isuzu Motors of America, Karmann GmbH, Magna International and Webastos, and the competition is aggressive. Look for continuous improvements in features, a growing niche market for retractable hardtops and new innovations like Webasto's latest offering: a convertible system that can be opened while driving, currently on sale in Europe on Daimler-Chrysler's Smart car.

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Automotive Industry

Letting the Sun Shine In - North American light vehicle sunroof market - Brief Article

Automotive Industries, August, 2001 by Lora J. Bingham

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