Redefining Affordable Car Looks with Molded-in Color

Transforming Automotive Surfaces Through Material Innovation

Design acts as a key differentiator for automotive OEMs, while the industry faces increasing economic pressure and demand for cost-effective solutions in transforming markets with numerous new market entrants.

Covestro responds with innovative, paint-free molded-in color automotive injection molding solutions that expand surface finish possibilities for affordable automotive interior and exterior components.

The Technology: Molded-in Color for Automotive Applications

Molded-in color solutions use standard injection molding machines with no need for special equipment or know-how and enable existing value chains to efficiently produce high-quality injection molded automotive parts in a single production step:

• Premium surface finishes are directly integrated into the mold surface and replicated by the injected Polycarbonate
• Directly integrated haptic and touch elements for automotive interior applications
• Eliminates the need of protective or decorative coatings 
• Cost reduction through simplified production value chains
• Improved environmental impact by eliminating Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions and eased recycling solutions

How Material Innovation makes premium aesthetics affordable

The molded-in color technology delivers surfaces that fascinate with their extraordinary visual quality. Our material solutions enable deep, intense color saturation and perfect uniformity, creating a sense of value and precision for automotive applications.

Makrolon® Ai for Interior Applications:

• Direct replication of optical and haptic elements on the mold cavity during injection molding
• Available in various OEM colors with adjustable gloss levels 
• Compliant with OEM standards for scratch resistance, mar resistance, scrub resistance, abrasion behavior, weather & aging resistance and chemical resistance for interior components

Makrolon® AX W for Exterior Applications:

• Highly weather-stable polycarbonate for black, high-gloss exterior applications (piano black)
• No compromise in heat resistance or mechanical properties compared to conventional polycarbonates
• Meets strict OEM weathering requirements with delta E < 1 and gloss retention > 90% after weathering to SAE J2527 and ASTM D7869 test methods 

Beyond Material Solutions: A Partnership Approach

Covestro delivers comprehensive support from concept to mass production with specialized material solutions for affordable Premium-Designs:

• Expert assistance in part design and mold design
• Automotive components and material testing capabilities
• Global test centers with specialists in Pittsburgh, Shanghai, and Leverkusen
• Dedicated support for mass production launches

Visit us at K2025 to experience firsthand how our molded-in color solutions demonstrate the material effect - proving that innovative materials create effects that transform automotive surfaces while delivering sustainable and cost-effective solutions.