FEATURE
Kerry Pianoforte, Editor
Globally speaking, the automotive refinish market has hown stable growth over the past year. “Regional con- solidation in North America continues at both the shop
and distributor level, with significant competition for share,” said
Chris Toomey, senior vice president, coatings solution NA, BASF.
“In Europe, consolidation trends continue to varying degrees
across the region. Demand continues to develop in emerging mar-
kets particularly in the economy segment, for example in China
and Mexico where BASF has recently launched our Norbin brand.”
Overall, PPG reported that the current global market is
growing steadily and rebounding nicely now from the past
recession. Major contributing factors in-
clude lower fuel prices combined with an
overall increase in vehicle registrations and
miles driven, especially in mature markets.
“This increase in new vehicle sales particularly impacts positively on auto refinish since new car owners are more likely to
be insured and willing to invest in repairing the vehicle’s finish,” said John Outcalt,
PPG vice president, global refinish. The industry is beginning to
see positive momentum in several of the larger economies in the
The auto refinish market continues steady growth as a result of lower fuel prices and an
overall increase in vehicle ownership worldwide.
The Auto Refinish Market
Chris Toomey
Photo courtesy of BASF.
