Plastic Additives for Automotive and Mobility

The vehicles of tomorrow will be connected, autonomous, shared, battery-powered or have other alternative power trains. One of the key success factors for these new technologies will be the greater use of functional plastics. BASF’s portfolio of plastic additives enables our customers to meet the new challenges induced by the changes in the mobility market.

The role of plastics in the design and manufacturing of automotive vehicles has never been more essential. In 2021, a typical car consists of approximately 15% plastic by weight, which represents more than 2000 plastic parts made from various polymer types. 70% of the plastics used are chosen from just four polymers: polypropylene, polyurethane, polyamide and polyvinyl chloride.

In the future, plastics will play an even greater role to meet the challenges of the dynamically changing world of mobility: increased recycled content, electrification protection, lightweight construction, and novel applications of some plastic types.  Each of these new trends will trigger increased and changed stabilization and functionalization needs.

Plastics, and the necessary additives, are critical to achieving the goals both driven by sustainability trends and set by the automotive industry’s performance needs, such as increased recycled content, emission reduction, improved durability and aesthetics, while maintaining competitive cost-in-use characteristics.