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Chris Bodea

Dr. Sweigart

Engineering Applications

8 April 2019

Hovercraft: Global Market Analysis

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Hovercrafts have been around for over 60 years now and today's market continues to

show that they are still in demand all around the world. First made in early 1950, a hovercraft is

a vehicle which hovers over the ground by pushing air underneath a skirt to provide lift. This air

allows for an almost frictionless movement which then allows the vehicle to travel over all kinds

of different terrain ranging from water to mud to grass. Hovercrafts are used in a wide variety of

situations ranging from military use to everyday civilian use. Due to this, the market needs to fill

in all these needs. The hovercraft market is continuously expanding but is made up of mainly 21

companies, most of which are based out of the United Kingdom. This is a surprisingly high

number considering that very few people have ever ridden in a hovercraft and considering the

market is not one that many will consider thriving.

The main companies that build hovercrafts are stationed in the United Kingdom, where

the first hovercraft was ever built. The main company in the hovercraft industry is called Griffon

hovercrafts. Designed and produced in the UK, Griffin Hovercafts are some of the most well

known and capable hovercrafts ever produced. The company is mainly known for producing

commercial, military, and humanitarian hovercrafts which are then shipped all over the world.

The company has been around for more than 50 years and delivers hovercrafts to over 41

different counties. There are also several other hovercraft manufactures like ABS Hovercrafts,

Cushrioncrafts, and British Hovercraft Corporation. All these companies play a major role in the

hovercraft industry by providing the world with hovercrafts for different purposes. An interesting

fact is that tall these companies are located in the UK.

Due to their dynamic capabilities, hovercrafts are a great option for many countries

however due to their complex construction and high price the number of hovercraft sold is
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surprisingly low. From 2019 to 2024 the hovercraft market is expected to increase by only .03%.

This means the market will be essentially stable with little to no growth for the next 5 years.

Furthermore, this means that the same number of people are buying hovercrafts each year.

Although it is hard to get an exact number of how many units are sold due to how rare they are,

one can expect that on average the market sells between 1500-2500 crafts a year with most of the

demand coming from various militaries. This is furthered backed by the cost of a machine. The

cheapest civilian hovercrafts can start as high as 30,000 US dollars, equivariant to the price of a

new family car, and can go up to more than 50 million USD when ordered in a particular format

and size (commercial/military use). Focusing mainly on the military is where hovercraft

companies make the most money. For instance, from 2016 to 2017 the global military market

increased by 1.1% to an overall worth of 1.739 billion USD. This is an extremely small amount

especially compared to other forms of transportation. To see how small this number is one can

compare this it to the car industry which increased by 2.5% from 2016 to 2017 and brought its

worth to over 274.3 Billion USD.

The hovercraft market is split between many different counties however there is one main

country that dominates the market for hovercrafts, the United Kingdom and when looking at the

hovercrafts main uses it is easy to see why. In the United Kingdom hovercrafts are used for a

wide variety of purposes ranging from disaster rescue and support all the way to military usage.

The dynamic and versatile machines allow humans to overcome the diverse landscape without

putting any lives in danger. Furthermore larger version are used every day to transport citizens

across the English Channel. The UK also holds more than 10 of the main 21 main hovercraft

manufactures, but they also are the main buys of hovercrafts around the world. Hovercraft sales
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further help the economy by bringing in a huge sum of money for the United Kingdom’s

Monetary Government. Overall hovercrafts are used all over the world and although they might

not have a market that it continuously boom, they provide humans all over the world with a

reliable safe, and powerful tool that can save lives and more.
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Work Cited

Automotive Industry Analysis 2018 - Cost & Trends​,

www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/automotive-industry-analysis-2018-cost-trends/.

“Cushioncraft Ltd.” ​Hovercraft of Cushioncraft Ltd​,

www.bartiesworld.co.uk/hovercraft/cushioncraft.htm.

“Military Hovercraft Market | Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2018 - 2023).” ​Military Hovercraft
Market | Growth, Trends, and Forecast (2018 - 2023)​,
​www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/military-hovercraft-market​.

Motionlab Marketing Ltd. “Global Car Sales up by 2.4% in 2017 Due to Soaring Demand in
Europe, Asia-Pacific and Latin America.” ​JATO,​ 23 May 2018, ​www.jato.com/
usa/global-car-sales-2-4-2017-due-soaring-demand-europe-asia-pacific-l
atin-america/.

“Recreational & Personal Hovercraft.” ​The British Hovercraft Company,​ britishhovercraft.com/.