- 7 May 2008 -
BASF targets India's automotive industry
CHEMICALS giant BASF has announced investments in plants and technology to support the growing Indian automotive industry. The company will build a new engineering plastics compounding plant at its existing site in Thane, which is expected to come on stream by the second half of 2009. It has also set up a computer aided engineering (CAE) lab in Thane where its engineers will optimise parts in cooperation with customers.
greener cars
A key focus for BASF is energy efficiency and solutions to curb emissions. Reducing a vehicle’s weight by 10% translates into 5-7% less fuel consumption. The company says that for every kilogram the weight of a car is reduced, 25.3 kg less carbon dioxide emissions are emitted over the service life of the car. Using plastics in automotive construction therefore makes sense from an environmental point of view because they are much lighter than steel components.“Production figures show that Asia is the fastest growing region in the global automotive industry, with car production increasing by 8% last year; in India it has been growing at an average of 15% per year over the last few years," says Prasad Chandran, Chairman BASF Group in India and Head South Asia. "Innovations in the automotive industry are increasingly being driven by Asian companies, and BASF supports this trend.”
Automotive is one of BASF’s key target segments and its second-largest source of sales after the chemical industry, according to Dr Wolfgang Hapke, President Market & Business Development Asia Pacific. In 2007, BASF derived over 13% of its €58 billion total global sales from the automotive industry.
BASF provides a variety automotive plastic solutions for applications ranging from dashboards and seats, to airbags and temperature-resistant products for use under the bonnet.
BASF; www.automotive.basf.com
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