The term active safety is used to refer to the safety systems such as brakes, steering, airbags and seatbelts that help in avoiding accidents or at least minimize their effects. However, the term active safety in increasingly being used to describe devices that understand the vehicle first and then use this understanding minimize the effects of a crash as well as avoid it.

This broader category of active safety devices includes traction control systems, electronic stability control systems, and brake assist which consist of a variety of sensors. The active seatbelts use the information provided by the active safety systems such as camera, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and radar to retrain the person sitting on the seat, even before a potential crash.

An active seatbelt is a type of pretensioner that is driven electrically that tightens the seatbelt in a hazardous situation, as a precaution. An active seatbelt assembly consists of buckle lifters, pretensioners, and retractors that loosen or tighten the belt slack as per the situation on the road.

Occupant safety has become a priority across the value chain of automobile manufacturers. This has led them to incorporate active seatbelts in their vehicles, which not only help in avoiding the crash but also help in minimizing the effects of a crash. Not only are automobile manufacturers concerned about this issue, but the governments of various countries are taking measures to decrease or at least slow down the increasing number of road accidents happening every year.

Measures like crash tests and NCAP ratings are being introduced by the governments in order to prevent these road accidents. Thus, the governments of these countries are forcing the use of active seatbelts in the form of norms and regulations. These factors are likely to provide a boost to the active seatbelt Market during the forecast period 2021 to 2027. A major factor that is likely to restrain the market of active seatbelts is that the active seatbelts are not able to prevent or minimize the damage caused due to side crashes. These side collisions are known as T-bone collisions or right-angle collisions. In these type of collisions, a chronic injury can be caused even by a minor incident.

The active seatbelt market in Europe and the MEA (Middle East and Africa) regions are expected to be the fastest growing markets of active seatbelts in the forecast period 2017 to 2021. This is due to the fact that the car markets of these regions standardize seatbelts in several variants of cars. Apart from that, these regions comprise of headquarters of high-end passenger car brands, who are now incorporating active seatbelts as a compulsory part of their automobiles.

Apart from the Europe and MEA regions, the Asia Pacific region is also estimated to register a major growth in the active seatbelt market during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to the increasing cases of road accidents and the need for implementation of the measures related to road safety. Also, the Asia Pacific region is gradually being called the hub of automobile production. This factor is likely to increase the active seatbelt market for active seatbelts in the Asia Pacific region because automobile manufacturers are now incorporating active seatbelts as an essential part of automobiles.

Some of the major players identified in the global active seatbelt market are:-

• Tokai Rika
• Bosch
• Takata Corporation
• DENSO
• Special Devices, Inc
• Far Europe
• Key Safety Systems
• HYUNDAI MOBIS
• ITW Safety
• Iron Force Industrial
• Autoliv Inc.
• TRW Automotive Holdings