tiresandparts.net9What are the most popular colors in the region and why? Are the color preferences here different from those in other markets?The Middle East region imports cars from different countries around the world and car brands are produced in different factories around the world. This combination creates the need for a robust system that is very capable in accurate color matching.White, black and silver are the most dominants colors which is not far different from global automotive color trends. Every year, for over 60 years, Axalta has published the annual Global Automotive Color Popularity Report to spot popular colors around the globe. Axalta’s 2017 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report names white and shades of white (pearl white and solid white) as the most popular color in the world, followed by black (solid black and effect black) and grey in third place. Color matching is much more complicated than one imagines because it depends on other factors. One brand of white can have more than 30 shades of white and Axalta has developed one of the world’s most extensive database of more than 4 million color formulations to find the right mix of color.What is the outlook for the automotive coatings market in the Middle East, in general, both in the short-term and the long-term? Saudi Arabia recently made it legal for women to drive and own cars in the kingdom. Will you be strengthening your presence in the Saudi market as an outcome of this change? With a population of than 400 million people, and growing, the Middle East is one of the fast-growing regions in the world and youth forms a big portion. Car pool will continue to grow rapidly despite the slow rate witnessed in the past few years. And in Saudi Arabia, with women allowed to own cars and drive, these are all positive market signs for Axalta. The wider Middle East car sales market is predicted to grow twice as fast as markets in North America and Western Europe between 2012 and 2022 according to Carmudi, a regional automotive publication. Elsewhere, forecasts of annual light vehicle sales among the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the largest economic body in the Middle East, estimate a surge of 25 percent to nearly 1.75 million new car sales due to strong economic growth, private sector activity, low interest rates and government spending.Traditionally, the paint market has been closely linked to GDP growth. In developed economies, paint markets follow GDP trends whereas in growing economies, the growth is even faster. For automotive refinish business, growth rate in car parc is critical. Accident rates also have an impact on the collision repair sector, ie, body shops.Axalta engages automotive OEMs and refinish customers through customer-focused programs such as product-knowledge training, practical training in applying our coatings and consultancy. We are well-positioned to support Middle East’s growing automotive market and is confident of its future. Which is why we recently set up our own regional office and Automotive Refinish Training Center, both in Dubai.How is the UAE market different from other markets in the region and the other emerging markets? Are there any challenges that are specific to the UAE market?We see UAE is rather advanced in its usage of waterborne (water-based) refinish coatings, driven by acumen and environmentally-conscientious corporations in the absence of legislation from the region. As such, Axalta wants to play its role because being sustainable and sustainable practices are in our business DNA. We plan to help customers embrace more the use of more sustainable coatings and to deploy more sustainable spraying processes. We are also highly aware that customer requirements are higher in UAE in terms of service required and technical assistance. They wish for a production system to enhance their speed in delivering quality refinish services. Axalta has consultancy services in which we work closely with customers to resolve coating and spraying issues and challenges. Which companies do you see as Axalta’s main competitors here in the automotive coatings sector? Axalta believes that we are in a unique position to service a range of customers, not only in automotive, but also in industrials, construction and others with a comprehensive range of coatings to meet every need. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some stories about Axalta so you can see how unique Axalta is as a global leading coating company. Axalta has more than 150 years’ history in coatings. Axalta’s first coatings were developed in Europe in 1866 for horse-drawn carriages. As cars emerged as the leading form of personal transportation in the 20th century, Axalta’s Duco lacquers revolutionized the application of coatings with the first spray-applied, fast-drying automotive finish. The new technology cut paint-drying times from days to hours and offered customers a range of new color choices.
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