Concept cars for future mobility

BASF, in tandem with the Research and Development Center of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd. (GAC R&D Center) unveiled three co-developed electric concept cars at the Auto Guangzhou 2018. The new electric concept cars feature futuristic designs that address the diverse needs of China’s drivers.

 

The three two-seat concept electric cars are designed by GAC R&D Center, with advanced prototyping support from designfabrik®, BASF’s dedicated touch-point for designers. With BASF’s innovative materials and solutions, the new concept cars address the diverse needs of a wide variety of drivers: senior citizens, female drivers, and more. They also address the trend towards car sharing, one of the fastest growing urban mobility concepts worldwide.

 

From holistic air cleaning solutions to seat fabrics, as well as materials used to build the body panels and battery pack of the electric vehicles, BASF’s innovative solutions turn ideas into solutions. Exterior auto body paints co-developed by BASF and GAC R&D Center underline a unique personality for each concept vehicle. 

 

 

One concept car 2U is designed to appeal to women seeking an automotive look that meets their individual style. The car  showcases possibilities including a unique seat design with translucent trim parts made of BASF’s Ultramid® Vision. The fur-like surface of the passenger’s seat design is brought to life with BASF’s Ultrafuse® TPU 3D printing solution. Another concept car, 2US is a two-seater electric vehicle designed for senior drivers has a unique design feature of a rotational seat base. It helps elderly drivers and passengers get into and out of the vehicle with ease. The plastic gears made from BASF Ultramid® Advanced N ensure a smooth operation of the rotation mechanism, which is designed to rotate 90 degrees horizontally in-and-out of the car cabin. The third concept car, 2ALL, features several design elements to address the particular needs of car sharing, including easy operation and low maintenance. For example, the front bumper made from BASF’s Elastollan® HPM, have an outstanding anti-scratch elastomer pad design. The seat back and pan cushion made with BASF’s Infinergy® E-TPU particle foams perfectly combine comfort with robustness.

 

The automotive industry is one of BASF’s key customer industries. In 2017, BASF’s automotive driven sales totaled €11.4 billion – representing approximately 18 percent of BASF Group’s sales. BASF supplies and develops functional materials and solutions that enable vehicles to be built more efficiently and have a lower environmental impact, whatever powertrain technology they use.