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40 August 2018 | AutoData SUPPLIERS » AUTOMOTIVE PAINTS Sherwin-Williams, in South America, supplies General Motors in Argentina and acts in the interior painting: “Our Soft Swade technology has been very well accepted. It aligns colors and a very comfortable texture to the human touch “. COLOR TRENDS Despite the lack of color in the streets, the main automotive paint brands invest in color trends and differential features. Marcos Fernandes, from BASF, sees that the company has a group of designers, spread throughout the world, who resear- ches colors even in other segments, such as jewelry design and architecture, taking into account the demographic and social conditions of each region. He mentions the white color as an example, a trend pointed for the 2006/2007 season: “At that time it represented only 10% and only for commercial vehicles. Today it is the color that predominates, from 30% to 40% of sales worldwide, not only in Brazil”. In an analysis for South America, more focused on Brazil, Basf’s designers can see more elements of nature, optimism and joy. So, white, black and orange emer- ge as tendencies: “The industry’s challenge is to develop different colors even if they arewhite or bla- ck. Sowe use pigments, effects to transform those colors into somethingmore sophisti- cated, modern, that creates attractiveness. Orange is a color that has a strong visual appeal and generates a connection with optimism and nature and it has no gender. It is a trend for four, five years from now and is often used for launches nowadays, mainly for small and sports cars”. According to him, “for the medium and long termwe will continue to have white, black, silver and gray as predominant, but other colors will grow in the portfolio, such as blue, green and orange”. Among the global trends, a study by PPG detected that, for Brazil, white and silver keep leading customers’ choices. COLORS, NAMES Orange is a trend for the next years, but the insistent dominance of white, black and silver will remain unshakable REFRESHING PROTECTION New technologies for automotive paints include anti-scratch varnish and pigments that repel heat, sparing the vehicle’s air conditioning Disclousure/General Motors Disclousure/Volkswagen