Chen Jian, from Yangzhou Tinfulong Group Co., Ltd., delivered his report of Application and development trend of PSF in automobile interior decoration.

Mr. Chen delivered his speech from the perspectives of the development status of automotive industry and fiber in automotive application in China and abroad, the overall development of automotive interior nonwovens, the main raw materials and application fields of automotive interior nonwovens, the development trend of automotive interior nonwovens and the prospect of automotive interior fiber product innovation.

In 2021, automobile production was about 80.15 million, an increase of 3% on year; in 2023, annual output increased to 92.76 million, an increase of 7.4% on year. Currently, automobile manufacturing accounts for about 7 per cent of global GDP. China's automobile production and sales have steadily ranked first in the world for 15 consecutive years, and automobile sales in 2023 exceeded 30 million, accounting for 32.4% of the world's total. Car exports increased from 1.4 million in 2018 to 4.9 million in 2023. In recent years, the new energy vehicle market has maintained rapid growth, with sales increasing by 96.9% year on year in 2022 and 35.8% year on year in 2023 to 9.587 million. It is estimated that the sales of new energy vehicles in China are expected to exceed 12 million in 2024.

The market growth rate of interior accessories in the automobile industry in China and abroad has declined year after year. However, because nonwovens have the advantages of incomparable materials, personalized design, better tensile properties and higher performance-to-price ratio compared with woven fabrics, the applications in interior decoration are increasing. Automotive nonwovens are mainly used in molded interior parts, sound absorption/insulation and thermal insulation materials, as well as composite and laminated materials. It is estimated that the annual demand for nonwoven sound insulation materials in China will exceed 70 million square meters. According to product functions and cost factors, spunbonded nonwovens account for 66%, acupuncture 27%, spunlaced/resin bonding 6%, and others 1%. The nonwovens prepared by recycled polyester fiber are also used in automobile floor sound insulation, damping materials and other molding materials.

Tinfulong's recycled polyester fiber has been used in roof, engine felt, suitcase blanket, central main carpet, coat rack, seat backing, outer wheel cover, and left and right side panels.

In the future, the development of non-woven materials with deep molding formability, lightweight and thinness, and the development of green materials with energy saving and recycling characteristics will be the trend. With the improvement of social awareness of environmental protection and the improvement of national living standards, the automotive interior fiber industry should comply with the development trend of nonwovens and strengthen the development of functional modified fibers.