Zheshang: Continuously promoting lightweighting of passenger cars. Material lightweighting is the mainstream direction.

Zheshang released a research report stating that as the penetration rate of new energy vehicles increases, the demand for lightweighting will continue to rise. The three main paths to achieving lightweighting are material, structure, and manufacturing process lightweighting, with material lightweighting being the current mainstream direction. The report believes that modified plastics are an important direction. Modified plastics not only have the advantages of traditional plastics, but also have improved mechanical strength and performance. With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China, the market size of modified plastic components for automobiles is expected to reach 223.3 billion yuan by 2027, with a CAGR of approximately 10% from 2025 to 2027. Zheshang's main points are as follows: Policy and performance requirements are driving the trend towards lightweighting in passenger cars 1. Lightweighting can reduce carbon emissions, meet environmental policy requirements, and also reduce battery maintenance costs and increase range. As environmental policies become stricter, such as China's mandatory national standard GB 27999-2025, which will come into effect on January 1, 2026, stipulating a carbon dioxide emission level of 3.3L/km for passenger cars. By September 2025, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles has increased to 58%. Due to the generally heavier weight of new energy vehicles compared to fuel vehicles, the demand for lightweighting will continue to increase as the penetration rate of new energy vehicles rises. 2. Material lightweighting is the mainstream direction. The three main paths to achieving lightweighting are material, structure, and manufacturing process lightweighting, with material lightweighting being the current mainstream direction, focusing mainly on high specific strength materials such as magnesium alloys, aluminum alloys, and non-metal materials like plastics. The report believes that modified plastics are an important direction. 3. Market size: The global market size is expected to grow slightly, with broad prospects for the domestic lightweighting market. According to data from Research and Markets, the global automotive lightweighting market size was $83.8 billion in 2024, and is expected to increase to $114.7 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 6% from 2024 to 2029. In the domestic market, according to data from Analysys, China's automotive lightweighting market size has grown from 135 billion yuan in 2013 to 422.58 billion yuan in 2023, with a CAGR of 12% from 2013 to 2023. Replacing steel with plastics: Modified plastics have lower density and higher specific strength, making them an ideal material for automotive lightweighting 1. Modified plastics not only have the advantages of plastics, but also have improved mechanical strength and performance, with obvious advantages. Compared to metals that require high-temperature smelting and forging, plastics processing is simpler and most plastics can be processed by injection molding, with higher processing efficiency. Additionally, plastics have a lower melting point and strong ductility. Modified plastics not only have the advantages of traditional plastics, but also have improved mechanical strength and performance. 2. Modified plastics have a wide range of applications in automobiles, mainly composed of PP, PA, etc. Currently, modified plastics are used in automobile interiors, exteriors, electronics, powertrains, etc. According to the Prospective Industry Research Institute, the highest proportion of modified plastics used in automotive applications are modified PP, PA, PE, ABS, totaling approximately 66%. 3. From 2010 to 2024, the CAGR of modified plastics production reached 11.7%, with a 10 percentage point increase in modification rate. Production of modified plastics increased from 7.05 million tons in 2010 to 33.2 million tons in 2024, with a CAGR of 11.7%. The modification rate increased from 16% in 2010 to 26% in 2024. 4. Market size: The amount of modified plastics used per vehicle in China continues to increase, reaching 200 kilograms per vehicle in 2023, mainly driven by the demand for automotive lightweighting. However, compared to developed countries in the automobile industry, there is still a gap in the amount of modified plastics used per vehicle. With the continuous increase in the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China, the market size of modified plastic components for automobiles in China is expected to reach 223.3 billion yuan by 2027, with a CAGR of approximately 10% from 2025 to 2027. Risk warning: Rising raw material costs; replacement risks with new materials.