BASF collaborates with GACNE to provide digital automotive coatings solutions in China

BASF and Guangzhou Automobile Group New Energy Co Ltd (GACNE), a subsidiary of GAC, have signed a cooperation agreement in Guangzhou, China.

The agreement is signed to further strengthen strategic partnership and explore digital coatings solutions for the automotive industry.

Under this cooperation agreement, BASF will provide a digital platform that enables GACNE to digitalise and integrate initially scattered data and to measure its data readiness and maturity through data analysis.

Launched in China for the first time, the new platform will support paint shops to improve quality and enhance efficiency.

"We are excited to embark on the path of digitalisation with GACNE, an innovative and pioneering partner. Digitalisation is one of BASF’s strategic levers and has become an integral part of our coatings business.

"With this collaboration, we not only create a new customer experience for GACNE but also grow our mutual business through new business models and eventually enhance our overall competitiveness and efficiency,” said Patrick Zhao, Senior Vice President, BASF Coatings Solutions Asia Pacific.

BASF’s digital platform will be customised to focus on improvement of GACNE’s paint shop operations and decision making with more efficient ways of data reporting, processing and analysing.

BASF experts have provided training sessions to GACNE’s users of the platform.

Further modules and solutions can be added and customised based on GACNE’s feedback and evolving digital needs.

"Digitalisation and smart manufacturing are key concepts when we designed and built the plant.

"Digitalisation level will be a KPI to evaluate our company’s performance,” said Xi Zhongmin, Vice General Manager of GACNE.

"BASF has been GACNE’s trusted partner since 2018 and we are the first OEM to utilise total-layer coating solution from BASF.

"I look forward to further co-operation in new technologies and other digital solutions between the two companies.”

Since starting their collaboration, BASF has supported GACNE in launching its paint shop and provided technical expertise, including comprehensive colour development and paint shop management.

BASF has become the 100% coating supplier of GACNE since then, including e-coat, primer, basecoat and clear coat.

The portfolio also includes digital solutions for quality and efficiency improvement of the whole coating process, based on the automotive industry’s challenges and digital needs.