Maintaining pressure: what can we expect from the TPMS market in 2011?

Mandatory fitment of TPMS to new vehicles doesn’t kick in until 2012 officially however, due to the lead time necessary in producing 2012 model year vehicles, those same vehicles and the TPMS sensors they will be using are likely to already be in production. So, as we rapidly approach the mandatory introduction of tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) later on this year and with aftermarket suppliers and service providers paying more attention to the subject than ever, the question now is what can we expect from the TPMS market this year?

According to researchers at Frost & Sullivan the total European TPMS market take up proportion (across the whole vehicle parc) was something like 16 per cent in 2010. Of these 11 percentage points refer to indirect measuring systems and 5 per cent direct TPMS in 2010. With virtually all new vehicles offering some kind of TPMS in advance of the legislation that will mandate this technology’s fitment next year, the figures are rising all the time.

Last year the majority of fitments in Europe were options and therefore not standard on basic models. Research shows that upper segments vehicles generally offer direct systems as an option, whereas lower segments offer generally indirect systems as an option. As a result, while total take up may increase this year, those in the know don’t expect any wild variations in the ratio between direct and indirect sensors this year.

However, when Tyres & Accessories asked leading TPMS supplier Continental for its technical opinion on the subject, company representatives told us “a direct system is required to robustly fulfil the European regulation.”

Continental currently number one in European market

According to Continental representatives, the well-known German tyre and automotive supplier is currently number one in the European TPMS market. However, other key competitors include Schrader, Beru and TRW.

Whoever is top of the tree in terms of sales and market shares, due to the relatively still low penetration rate of TPMS in the market up to this point, consumer awareness currently remains relatively low.

In addition to the other leading TPMS suppliers, Continental are geared up for the massed introduction of TPMS and are, in the words of Continental interior division spokesperson Enno Pflug, “ready to support the upcoming European regulation.” Furthermore, all the best known European tyre manufacturers are also aware of the upcoming technologies and legislation. The knowledge gap can more usually be found on the garage and tyre dealer level, where awareness of the subject is routinely described as “low” by most of those T&A spoke to. One explanation for this is that there is a minimum level of experience in the market due to the fact that the technology of TPMS has only been available as an option for so long.

Moving forward suppliers like Continental and Schrader are making great efforts to promote awareness of the issue surrounding TPMS. Continental, for example, has supported OEMs in the past with dealer training, something the company plans to continue its support of.

The next step would be utilise media campaigns and OEM end user/dealer information packages to spread the word. [This] “would be very beneficial to improve the knowledge level of the usability, environmental, fuel saving and safety benefits relating to fitment of direct TPMS system across the whole industry,” Enno Pflug told T&A.

Any future media campaign is likely to centre on emissions based/fuel saving narrative, with all parts of the industry and trade keen on promoting these benefits.

The next big thing…

While TPMS technology is still filtering down to the masses, the companies behind the systems have already been developing the more advanced so-called cyber tyre technology for some time. As Continental what this means and the answer is that the next generation of its intelligent tyre systems include the “electronic-tyre module” that is designed to monitor pressure and temperature “with superior accuracy, along with how much load is being put on the tyre.” The system can determine each tyre’s condition and mileage and flag unsafe conditions, including excessive wear, low pressure or excessive speed. The combination of additional features will support the driver further to optimize fuel consumption

Sharp eyed readers of these pages will have noticed our recent coverage on TPMS integration into smart phone applications and then there is what is known as Sensor Fusion – the interlinking of electronic-tyre intelligence with stability control and braking systems. From T&A’s point of view this represents a particularly striking development with the latest technology enabling adjustments as friction changes occur during braking (especially as tyre conditions and dynamic loads change). This means the system can be networked with future car-to-car or car-to-infrastructures protocols. According to the company, Continental’s electronic-tyre intelligent system modules is the “pillar supporting these next generation interlinking networks bring safer driving to our roads.”

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