Europe Automotive Coatings Market size surpassed USD 3.5 billion in 2019 and is predicted to register a growth of over 4.5% from 2020 to 2026.

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Automotive coatings or paints comprise of three components: Pigment, that offers colour to a paint, thinner, which offers consistency to the paint, and binder, that binds all the components of a paint. Automotive coatings are mainly of two types: water based automotive coatings and solvent based automotive coatings. Solvent based coatings contain solvents such as enamel or urethane and comprise volatile organic compounds which are toxic to environment. Water based coatings have gained popularity among car owners and manufacturers owing to lack of presence of volatile organic compounds in them.

Automotive paint is applied to a vehicle in three stages: first a primer coat is applied which helps in offering rust protection and UV protection. Primer coat is followed by a base coat for adding colour effects. This is followed by application of a clear coat, which enhances abrasion resistance and improves chemical stability of the paint to improve UV resistance.

European Market, By Product

The electrocoat segment accounted more than USD 870 million revenue in 2019. Electrocoating or e-coating is an immersion painting process and uses electric current to attach paint to vehicle body. Electrocoat is applied to a vehicle by completely submerging the vehicle in a primer tank, after which coating is applied to the body through cathode deposition.

E-coating is adopted by major vehicle manufacturers owing to ability to paint complex-shaped parts and ability to offer film uniformity. Use of electrocoat has soared in automotive industry pertaining to ability to offer faster and effective coating abilities. Rise in the production of passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles in European countries should proliferate the automotive electrocoat sector.

European Market, By Technology

Depending upon technologies, the water based automotive coatings market is estimated to witness over 5% CAGR between 2020 and 2026. Water based automotive coatings are becoming popular among car manufacturers pertaining to rising focus on lowering the use of volatile organic compounds as these are harmful to environments. Water based automotive coatings are also helpful in improving air quality and reduce health hazards. Owing to these advantages, utilization of water based automotive paints has soared in Europe.

European Market, By End-Use

Based on end uses, the commercial OEM segment size was over USD 1 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to observe a growth rate of 4.5% till 2026. The demand for automotive paint for commercial vehicle applications has soared owing to rise in the production value of commercial vehicles, especially light weight commercial vehicles.

The number of light weight commercial vehicles produced has increased from 2,199 thousand units in 2018 to 2,201 thousand units in 2019. This rise in the production output of light commercial vehicle should accelerate the market demand. Further, adoption of new coatings with crosslinking properties has helped companies to increase coating durability, appearance, resistance to UV, rust, and scratch.

Competitive Industry Landscape

The European automotive coatings industry share is significantly competitive with major players including BASF SE, Bayer AG, Axalta Coatings Systems LLC, PPG Industries, Inc., AkzoNobel N.V., Arkema SA, Clariant, Solvay S.A., Lord Corporation, The Sherwin-Williams Company, and Eastman Chemical Company.