More plastics in Chinese cars

Chinese car makers are aiming to increase the amount of plastics in their vehicles, currently around 50 kg, thereby reducing the gap, for example, with the United States, where the weight of plastics per vehicle ranges from 130 to 180 kg. To this purpose, during the sixth International Auto Plastics and Innovative Materials Development Forum held on 28 November in Cangzhou, some major Chinese automakers (Chang'an Automobile Group, Geely Holding Group, DongFeng Motor and Beiqi Foton Motor) announced that their production facilities will be adapted to the increased use of plastic components in their passenger car models, a development that will see them involving important materials manufacturers, such as Rhodia, DSM and Arkema, in their plans.