Automotive paints and coatings market outlook is increasingly becoming competitive due to rising customer expectations primarily regarding quality, durability, sustainability and aesthetics. Automotive paint brands are presenting innovative products to fulfill such expectations from the consumers. Automotive paint color preferences may vary with region, customer, purpose and OEMs. Some government initiatives to reduce pollution and health risks have also influenced automotive paint and coatings market share.
Traditional automotive paints emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are harmful for human health and environment. Governments in various regions have initiated regulations to control toxic emissions from paints and to meet these requirements, several automotive paint brands have introduced new products with less harmful effects. To facilitate more such innovations, automotive paints and coatings industry players are opting for various advantageous strategies like collaborations, acquisitions, market flotation etc.
One such collaborative venture for introducing innovative and customized solutions has been undertaken by Covestro AG. The company reportedly developed the Water-Borne (WB) Monocoat Paint coating solution as one of its automotive paint types for its partners Tata Cummins and Kwality Paints. The solution is claimed to eliminate emission of toxic gases, reduce carbon footprint and facilitate more cost-effective disposal of wastes due to the use of less hazardous substances.
Due to the strict norms being imposed by the governments for pollution control, companies are moving towards better and more environment-friendly solutions which is augmenting automotive paints and coatings market size. Such moves being undertaken by automotive paint brands will increase their customer base while meeting government norms.
Increasing production of automobiles also accounts for rapidly expanding automotive paints and coatings industry size. As per the statistics provided by International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA), across the globe, a total number of 95,634,593 cars and commercial vehicles were manufactured in the year 2018. Out of these, 21,072,296 units of light commercial vehicles were manufactured globally, which is 4.2 percent more than the year 2017. Increased car production will create greater demand for automotive paints which in turn will add to automotive paints and coatings market revenue share.
The APAC region represents more than half of the global production of automobiles. India has depicted dynamic growth with regards to auto production which increased by 8 percent between 2017 and 2018, surpassing the 5 million mark for the first time. The growth can be attributed to higher requirement for personal mobility solutions, a fad that will thereby accelerate automotive paints and coatings market trends.
Increasing demand for a wider variety of automobile colors is also anticipated to add to automotive paints and coatings market share. According to the 2018 color report by BASF for automotive OEM coatings, achromatic colors, like white, black, gray and silver, cover almost 80 percent of cars produced worldwide. Almost every third vehicle in Europe and more than every fourth car in North America is painted white, while in Asia Pacific it is more than every second car. About 43 percent of new cars produced in India are white. The most popular chromatic color is reported to be red.
Military vehicles are painted to increase stealth, reduce thermal signature etc., following the Federal Standard 595 camouflage color pattern and schemes. Recently, the U.S. Army developed a paint type for M1 Abrams tanks and other military vehicles which can enable them to reduce infrared signature and make the vehicles harder to detect. The new color is designed to lower thermal energy absorption from heat-generating internal components, such as auxiliary power units, electronics, and engines. Owing to military demand and increasing advancements to serve their needs, automotive paints and coatings market is anticipated to garner commendable profits over the forecast period.
Demand for automotive paint colors varying with the customers and regions, different government regulations, innovations by OEM and surplus charges for some colors will collectively impact automotive paints and coatings market size. Increasing production of the automobiles worldwide will quite notably augment automotive paints and coatings industry share. According to a research report compiled by the Global Market Insights Inc., automotive paints and coatings market revenue is anticipated to surpass $27.5 billion by the year 2025.