Looking at the automotive OEM paint market from three enterprises of Akzo Nobel

Intelligent coating systems for emerging technologies such as electric and autonomous vehicles are driving the development of the automated OEM market. Recently, according to the report released by Allied market research, the automotive OEM paint market is expected to reach 9.379 billion US dollars by 2022, with a CAGR growth rate of 5.6% from 2016 to 2022. From 2016 to 2022, the Asia Pacific region is expected to remain at the top with a compound annual growth rate of 4.7%, the report said. From 2016 to 2022, India is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.7%. Akzo Nobel said that in 2018, we saw different growth rates around the world. Peter Tomlinson, head of AkzoNobel's automotive and specialty coatings business, said that although the development of regions such as Asia and Europe still needs to be accelerated, the main reason is the decline of automobile demand and production in these regions. It is true that the development of the market is related to the actual car production in each region, because the production process of each car needs to use coating finally. Steven R. markovich, executive vice president and President of transportation coatings and greater China, said that the main driving force of the global automotive OEM coating market is the vehicle production at the end of 2018, about 1% lower than the level in 2017. Overall, the result was lower than expected, especially in China, where construction is expected to grow by more than 1%, but eventually by nearly 4%.

Volatility is also a feature of 2018, with new wltp disrupting normal production cycles in Europe and weather affecting production at some North American plants. Rebecca Liebert, senior vice president of automotive OEM coatings at PPG, said overall, the market performance was flat due to the overall decline in vehicle production, but there were also some strong regions such as South America and Russia. For example, Asia, South America, Eastern Europe and Russia provide excellent growth opportunities, and coating suppliers understand and grasp the needs of customers in each region. North America, Europe and Asia all represent the healthy market of automotive OEM coatings. Mr Tomlinson said the North American market now has a better growth outlook, although once there is regional demand in Europe and Asia, it will eventually return to a positive growth cycle. In addition, different dynamics can be seen in each region, for example, from countries with recently increased production costs (such as Japan, South Korea, etc.) to countries with lower costs in Asia (such as Southeast Asia). In order to constantly look for opportunities to promote the development of automotive coatings industry, Akzo Nobel focuses on providing customers with additional tools and high-quality technical services to help customers develop their business. Markovich said that there is still a lot of room for growth in the Asia Pacific region, especially in China and India in the next few years. From 2018 to 2023, it is expected to generate nearly 70% construction growth. In terms of the number of cars per 1000 people, China and India are currently below the level of maturity. Despite the recent slowdown, China's real GDP growth rate is more than twice the global average, which will continue to drive China's growing middle class.

India's real GDP growth is expected to be even slightly higher than China's. This means that with the improvement of income level, especially in the second and third tier cities, the car ownership rate is expected to rise, so as to support the automobile industry in the next few years. Color style and trend Akzo Nobel is very active in connecting plastic parts inside and outside the car. Now, says Tomlinson, people are paying more attention to details and the overall atmosphere that can be created with specific materials and finishes. There is a trend for coatings in the automotive interior market to use more subtle and elegant color and material combinations to produce unexpected hidden effects. Common examples are: 1. Neutral color, pigment with a trace of color or fine effect, like this year's Akzo Nobel color; 2. Smooth anodizing, making the color brighter; 3. Monotonous color scheme, but with rich texture and tactile effects, such as soft touch, silk touch, etc. He also said that the intensity of light has a certain impact on the automotive OEM paint market. For example, the flash that can be seen only when exposed to the light source, or the pattern that can be seen only when hidden under the light source, whether decorative or functional, can be seen more in the automobile appearance market, which is the color of emphasis and contrast, among which the design line displayed in the interior of the automobile is also applied to the exterior. According to the 66th global color trend report released by axel, white has become a very popular color for passenger cars in the world for the eighth consecutive year.

In China, more than 60% of cars are white. Globally, 38% of people choose white, which is far more than black. Silver and gray are in the third place. Mass customization is a focus of the company. Black roofs, stripes and two-color roofs are not new to the auto industry, markwich said, but they are becoming more common as automakers offer consumers more ways to customize cars directly from the factory. ESTEE highlights this with its 2018 car of the year color Sahara, a gold bronze color that adds warmth, can be used as the main color for customization options, etc. James Embree, head of OEM paint market and product management in North America, said that BASF's paint department has a good understanding of color trends and concepts based on an extensive and in-depth analysis of global trends and cultural changes affecting car color. The interaction of color, material and finish components continues to influence car design as new substrates and unique finishes with matte or textured appearance offer more opportunities for innovation and customization. As OEMs and consumers continue to explore new mobile platforms such as autonomous, connected, electric and shared vehicles, color, texture and other design features continue to receive attention. From the perspective of marketing, the design aesthetics of automobile interior and exterior decoration are changing, including the complex wheel coating. In response to this trend, PPG's annual car color forecast is widely used by OEM color and material designers around the world. Now almost all the visible color collections of the interior and exterior surfaces of the car are included, including the body panels, doors, console, instrument panel, etc. Shared vehicles will pay more attention to interior colors and textures and offer OEMs an opportunity to showcase differentiation and unique aesthetics.

PPG will also continue to take advantage of existing equipment and processes to explore new opportunities for a better look. For example, to help customers improve the appearance through a bottom-up approach, each layer of coating contributes to the vitality of color and other appearance features. An OEM implemented this method by introducing a new advanced primer in its compact coating process. In some colors, he obtained the appearance characteristics of a very compact traditional process. Automobile coating is used for the interior and exterior of automobiles. As cars become more and more complex, coatings also need to keep up with the development of technology. "Inside the car, we see more and more surfaces, such as touch screens, capacitive sensors and so on, which is related to the increasing trend of new human-computer interfaces between different systems," Tomlinson said. This trend has resulted in an increased demand for functional coatings, such as high scratch and corrosion resistance, easy cleaning, fingerprint and glare resistance, and any solution to reduce these tactile interactions is very popular. " Over time, people's requirements for coating quality will become higher and higher, and their awareness of environmental protection will become stronger. Similarly, an autonomous approach requires consideration of coatings, including detectability and transmissibility. If sensors used in driverless cars can be installed behind bumpers, the coating needs to allow radio waves to travel back and forth. Customers always pursue better appearance and durability, so the future challenge is to realize the aesthetic requirements related to color, and integrate new functions into the coating. Liebert said that PPG's customers are very concerned about achieving higher efficiency and production, and reducing environmental pollution in the manufacturing process is also a key area. PPG is striving to achieve every goal in the coating process, including pretreatment and substrate protection. For example, PPG R & D and service agencies have worked with customers to increase the use of lightweight materials without compromising protection, durability or appearance. PPG has been at the forefront of the market in terms of compact processes and low curing technologies to further reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, PPG has developed a set of "safe start" agreements for new colors and other products to ensure that the chemical composition, equipment and applications are consistent with the actual situation required by each customer, thus eliminating the problems of batch adjustment and high cost.