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Since the European Union officially announced an anti-subsidy investigation into three Chinese electric vehicle companies selling in Europe, and formally decided to impose additional tariffs in the middle of this year, Chinese independent brand car companies that originally relied on electric vehicles to "counterattack" the European car market have been forced to rethink their strategies for conquering this market.

Therefore, some local companies that are optimistic about their sales growth have chosen to speed up their industrialization layout in Europe.BYDHungarian factory;CherySettled in BarcelonaNissanThe factory is scheduled to start production this year; andSAIC MG、auspicious-Volvoetc.

But it is worth noting that while actively implementing production, everyone seems to have overlooked a crucial condition - the EU's "Scrapped Vehicles Regulations".

Every new car must contain 25% recycled plastic

Last year, discussions on plastic pollution around the world reached an unprecedented level.

First, the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly adopted the "Ending Plastic Pollution: Towards a Legally Binding International Instrument (EA.5/Res.14)", and then the EU updated the "End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation". The "Regulation" clearly stipulates that from 2030, the proportion of recycled plastics (PCR) in the plastics of new cars manufactured and sold in the European market must reach at least 25%, and 25% of the recycled plastics must come from the recycling of scrapped vehicles, that is, the plastic composition of each new car must contain at least 6.25% recycled plastics from scrapped vehicles.

Once this news was released, it immediately attracted widespread attention and discussion from all walks of life, including many voices of doubt.

Given the advantages of plastics in reducing vehicle weight and improving fuel efficiency, the demand for plastics in the automotive industry has continued to grow for many years. Currently, the average European car contains 150 to 200 kilograms of plastic. Therefore, a 25% recycled plastic share means that each car needs to contain at least 37.5 kilograms of recycled materials.

The material breakdown of each Volvo car in 2023. Among them, thermoplastics account for 13%.Volvo EX30 The 1770kg curb weight means that the vehicle uses 230kg of thermoplastics; Image source: Volvo Car Group 2023 Sustainability Report

Alejandro Navazas, science and policy advisor at EuRIC, expressed concerns about the recycling technology of scrapped automotive plastics. He pointed out that for common plastic parts, especially external parts such as bumpers and lights, manufacturers have the responsibility to improve their recyclability to increase the supply of recycled materials, but this also poses higher challenges to the industry's recycling technology and processes.

If the recycling mechanism for scrap plastics is still not effective and sound by 2030, and there is a shortage of recycled materials, new problems will arise. Timo Unger, senior manager of sustainable development and environmental affairs at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center, pointed out that if there is not enough recycled materials in one place, plastics must be transported from different manufacturing countries to be made into auto parts and then exported. Can the increased transportation energy consumption be considered low-carbon?

Image Source:"BMW i5Life Cycle Assessment Report

It should be noted that the requirement for the use of recycled plastics is not limited to the automotive industry. The EU also stipulates that by 2030, the use of recycled plastics in consumer PET bottles must reach at least 30%. Industry leaders such as Coca-Cola have even promised to far exceed this standard. This trend indicates that in the future, most industries in Europe may enter a closed-loop consumption model for plastics to ensure a stable supply of recycled plastics in the industry.

Therefore, the recycling, disassembly and extraction of scrapped automobile materials will face more stringent challenges. In the context that the current automotive recycled plastics field has not yet reached the same level of recycling and reuse, it is particularly important to improve the recyclability of materials.

At the same time, discussions on the development of legally binding international instruments to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, are accelerating, and consensus is expected to be reached as early as November this year. As one of the main application areas of plastics, the source structure and recycling of automotive plastics are likely to usher in new changes.

International automakers take the lead

Against the backdrop of growing environmental awareness and global companies actively pursuing carbon neutrality goals, Volvo Cars announced its environmental commitment as early as 2019: by 2025, at least 25% of the plastics used in all new cars will come from renewable raw materials and bio-based materials.Mercedes Benz、BMW、Audi,public,Honda,modern,KiaAll of them have successively launched the research, development and application of recycled plastics.

In 2023, Volvo launched the EX30 model, which reached a record high in the use of recycled and bio-based materials. Among them, 17% of plastics, 17% of steel and 25% of aluminum are from recycled resources. The vehicle's center console decorative panel and bumper bottom plastic use 30% recycled materials, while the seats use a material called Nordico^® Bio-based interior material based on natural leather, which is made from natural materials such as cork and rosin and about 17% recycled plastic.

Image credit: Volvo

In contrast, Toyota Motor Corporation's plan is more cautious. It said that by 2050, it will maximize the recycling of resources in Japan and Europe and increase the adoption rate of recycled materials in vehicles to more than 30%.ToyotaIn 2022, Toyota will begin to use recycled resin in new car parts and gradually expand its scope of use. This year, Toyota's recycled resin usage index in Japan increased by 0.7 times; in new cars produced in Europe, the index increased by 1.4 times. According to the plan, the use of recycled resin in Toyota's new cars will increase by two times or more by 2030.

Hyundai, as a non-European automaker that sells new cars worldwide, has also demonstrated its positive attitude towards sustainable development. According to its 2023 Sustainability Report, Hyundai continues to develop and improve internal and external vehicle recycling material technologies and new model application systems. In order to meet the requirements of the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulation, Hyundai has developed a specific recycled plastic application plan for models in the European market and is establishing a system to continuously monitor the implementation of these goals.

In addition, it has established a dedicated company-wide committee to strengthen the development of plastic recycling technologies, the formation of supply chains and the revitalization of the plastic recycling ecosystem to further upgrade the use of recycled plastics in new vehicles to address the new challenges posed to the system.

Although General Motors, another American automaker, has not released a detailed response strategy, its 2023 Sustainability Report shows that GM has used more than 39 million pounds (about 1.77 tons) of recycled plastics in the past year. "Although not all vehicles provide such materials, each application can provide valuable insights and bring us closer to achieving our sustainability goals," the report emphasized.

GM's 2023 recycled plastic application areas; Image source: GM 2023 Sustainability Report

Chinese automakers have a long way to go

In the "》 clearly pointed out that the primary difficulty in recycling scrapped automobile plastics in China lies in the difficulty of recycling.

The scrapped car recycling industry is complex and intricate, with a variety of materials used in a single product and significant differences between car companies, making it difficult for automotive plastic recycling to form a healthy development trend of high efficiency and low cost, not to mention the digital traceability of the materials themselves.

It is undeniable that with the implementation of national policies such as the "Pilot Implementation Plan for Extended Producer Responsibility of Automobile Products" and the "Action Plan for Promoting Large-Scale Equipment Updates and Consumer Goods Trade-in", clear development goals have been set for the recycling of scrapped vehicles and the recycling rate of new vehicles by automobile companies, and certain results have been achieved.

For example, Geely Holding Group, the parent company of Volvo Car Group, will establish an integrated circular ecosystem around the five major business segments of recycled vehicles, recycled parts, recycled materials, battery recycling and reuse, and regeneration business by the end of 2023, standardize the recycling process of scrapped vehicles, and form an industrial alliance recycling model with automobile factories as the core.

Examples of Geely Holding Group’s environmentally friendly materials being used in its vehicles; Image source: Geely Holding Group’s 2023 Sustainability Report

In terms of recycled materials, Geely Holding Group has completed the development and project application of eight materials, including recycled polypropylene (PP), recycled engineering plastic alloy (PC+ABS), bio-based polyvinyl chloride (PVC), recycled polyester fiber (PET fiber), recycled polyamide fiber (PA fiber), wool blended fabric, low-carbon cast aluminum, and low-carbon aluminum profiles.

Another local car company representativeNIO, has launched the "Clean+" environmentally friendly series of materials with its partners, covering various types such as renewable, recycled, and low-carbon. Taking the new EC6 model of 2023 as an example, its carpet bracket is made of bio-based material PA56, which can reduce carbon emissions per unit weight by about 50%.

Although leading domestic enterprises are actively exploring, we must be aware that 2030 is not a distant buffer period. From the development path of the above enterprises, it can be seen that this is not a simple issue of material replacement.

Take Toyota as an example. It has been actively promoting automobile dismantling and recycling projects around the world. As early as 2014, it established the first automobile dismantling and recycling company with a Beijing partner. At the same time, it introduced recyclable design at the stage of new car development. At present, it has realized the rapid dismantling design of automobile wiring harnesses, terminals, door trims and other parts, and marked them at the corresponding positions.

Wang Hong, executive vice president and secretary general of Ningbo Automobile Parts Industry Association, once suggested that in the process of manufacturing automotive plastics, materials with good recyclability, strong compatibility and environmental friendliness should be used, and the use of multiple types of plastics in the same product, as well as surface coatings in the form of painting, electroplating, capacitance, and toxic and harmful materials should be reduced or avoided.

In short, when designing a plastic part, we need to consider the recyclability of the material, the convenience of product disassembly and extractability, as well as meeting the performance and life requirements of the raw materials, while controlling costs. This involves the coordination of the entire industry chain, including raw material companies, parts companies, vehicle companies, recycling companies, and extraction companies. The lack of any link will affect the widespread application of recycled plastics in the automotive industry.

But it is obvious that at this stage, most companies in my country's automobile industry operate independently. How to break down the barriers to cooperation between companies, so as to build a more complete recycling, disassembly, extraction, and reuse industry chain, and form a more orderly business model, and then promote the formulation of relevant standards for automotive plastics, has become the underlying support for the large-scale use of recycled plastics in my country's automobiles, and it also determines the key to my country's domestic automobiles gaining a firm foothold in the European car market.