The BMW Group says it is the first carmaker to place its trust in more sustainable automotive OEM coatings certified according to BASF’s biomass balance approach. The BMW Group has chosen to use BASF Coatings’ CathoGuard 800 ReSource e-coat at its plants in Leipzig, Germany, and Rosslyn, South Africa, and the iGloss matt ReSource clearcoat throughout Europe. It produces an average of around 250,000 vehicles every year at these plants.

Using these more sustainable product versions for vehicle coatings enables CO₂ reduction of around 40% per coating layer; this will reduce the amount of CO₂ emitted in the plants by more than 15,000 metric tons by 2030, the company says.

“As the largest provider of chemical products to the automotive industry, we are aware of our responsibility to support our customers with innovative, eco-efficient solutions, said Dr. Markus Kamieth, Member of the Board of Executive Directors of BASF SE. “The biomass balance approach allows us to make our coatings solutions even more sustainable while retaining the same quality. We are delighted that the BMW Group has chosen to play a pioneering role in the automotive industry and that our products play a key part in helping it achieve its ambitious sustainability goals.”

“By reducing our use of fossil raw materials, we can conserve natural resources and lower CO₂ emissions at the same time. To achieve this, we are increasingly relying on sustainability innovations in our supplier network,” said Joachim Post, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network. “Innovative paints based on renewable raw materials are an important step in this direction.”