China’s automobile market may have surpassed the United States in 2009 to become the world’s largest, but when it comes to plastics and cars, the country still has some catching up to do.
The average Chinese economy car uses about 110 pounds of plastic, compared with 286 to 396 pounds per vehicle in mature markets like the United States.
That means Chinese cars use more metal, making them heavier, less fuel efficient and potentially more polluting.
But some foreign and Chinese industry officials believe the domestic car industry is ready to quickly adopt more plastic technologies as part of a broad strategy to be more environmentally friendly.
One concrete step: a group of global plastics suppliers and Chinese car companies, including Chang’an Automobile Group Co. Ltd., Geely Holding Group Co. Ltd. and Beiqi Foton Motor Co. Ltd., announced a technology alliance Nov. 28 aimed at ramping up their use of plastics. The global resin firms include Rhodia SA, DSM NV and Arkema SA.