Kerry Pianoforte, Editor10.13.22
This month’s feature article is on the Automotive Refinish market, offering insights from market leaders at AkzoNobel, Axalta, BASF and PPG.
As was the case across all paint and coatings segments, auto refinish was negatively impacted by the pandemic. According to reports, there was a dramatic decline of vehicle sales in 2020 and 2021, shortages in raw material availability and supply chain issues. This, in turn, has significantly affected the growth of the automotive coatings industry globally. In addition, the ongoing conflict between the Ukraine and Russia is also posing serious challenges in regard to supply chain issues.
Despite these challenges, there is a sense of optimism for the market moving into 2023.
“Generally, we’re seeing the automotive refinish industry continuing to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but still not back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Chancey Hagerty, PPG vice president, Global Automotive Refinish. “We are also still seeing market consolidation and ongoing supply chain challenges.”
“We see signs of continued market recovery as well as an increase in traffic congestion,” said Patrick Bourguignon, director Automotive and Specialty Coatings at AkzoNobel. “The markets show continued demand for new vehicles (despite rolling lockdowns in China) although we are seeing global supply challenges and the effects of the Ukraine-Russia war. The market shows resilience, especially in North America and EMEA.”
BASF made a major investment in their auto refinish segment. The company recently opened a new lab for the development of automotive refinish coatings and innovations beyond paint at its site in Münster, Germany. According to a press statement, it underlines the Coatings division’s global position as a future-oriented and innovative company. “It is another component of our positioning as a global innovation center of BASF Coatings. We are thus complementing a series of global technical innovations. This includes the ‘Lean Lab’, which we started operating in 2018 at this site, as well as our plant for the functionalization of films for various industries,” said Uta Holzenkamp, head of BASF’s Coatings division.
As was the case across all paint and coatings segments, auto refinish was negatively impacted by the pandemic. According to reports, there was a dramatic decline of vehicle sales in 2020 and 2021, shortages in raw material availability and supply chain issues. This, in turn, has significantly affected the growth of the automotive coatings industry globally. In addition, the ongoing conflict between the Ukraine and Russia is also posing serious challenges in regard to supply chain issues.
Despite these challenges, there is a sense of optimism for the market moving into 2023.
“Generally, we’re seeing the automotive refinish industry continuing to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, but still not back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Chancey Hagerty, PPG vice president, Global Automotive Refinish. “We are also still seeing market consolidation and ongoing supply chain challenges.”
“We see signs of continued market recovery as well as an increase in traffic congestion,” said Patrick Bourguignon, director Automotive and Specialty Coatings at AkzoNobel. “The markets show continued demand for new vehicles (despite rolling lockdowns in China) although we are seeing global supply challenges and the effects of the Ukraine-Russia war. The market shows resilience, especially in North America and EMEA.”
BASF made a major investment in their auto refinish segment. The company recently opened a new lab for the development of automotive refinish coatings and innovations beyond paint at its site in Münster, Germany. According to a press statement, it underlines the Coatings division’s global position as a future-oriented and innovative company. “It is another component of our positioning as a global innovation center of BASF Coatings. We are thus complementing a series of global technical innovations. This includes the ‘Lean Lab’, which we started operating in 2018 at this site, as well as our plant for the functionalization of films for various industries,” said Uta Holzenkamp, head of BASF’s Coatings division.
