BASF Coatings – Driving Surface Solutions

BASF Coatings today announces that Steve Arndt will succeed Chris Titmarsh as Senior Vice President, Global Automotive Refinish Coatings, effective July 1, 2026. Steve Arndt brings more than 30 years of automotive refinish industry experience spanning both manufacturing and distribution across North America and Europe.

BASF Coatings is strengthening its role in robotics-enabled Automotive Refinish by combining coatings expertise, digital color management and application process know-how. Through close collaboration with OEMs and automation partners, the company aims to help shape the future of automated paint application in body shops.

BASF Coatings has won the Sustainability Award in Automotive 2026 for its Overspray Free Application (OFLA) process, an overspray-free approach to two-tone painting. The award was presented in the ‘Technology: Operations & Supply Chain’ category, which honors tangible technological and process innovations that make a measurable contribution to sustainability by improving industrial operations and production processes.

General Motors presented BASF Coatings with a 2025 Supplier of the Year Award at GM’s 34th annual Supplier of the Year event in Austin, Texas. This marks the 19th award for BASF overall. The Supplier of the Year celebrates global suppliers that distinguish themselves by exceeding GM’s standards while providing innovative technologies and achieving some of the highest quality standards in the automotive industry. 

The custom color “Nightfall Rose”, with its design led by Xiaomi EV and enabled by BASF Coatings’ technical solutions, has received the 2026 Ringier Technology Innovation Awards – Coatings Industry in the “Innovative Coatings of the Year” category. It is also the only color innovation recognized among this year’s award winners.

Chemetall, the surface treatment global business unit of BASF Coatings, has opened its first application laboratory in the southern province of Tây Ninh (formerly Long An), near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The facility provides product testing and technical support to surface treatment customers across diverse market segments such as automotive, automotive components, general industry, and plastics recycling.

As part of its Carbon Management Roadmap, BASF Coatings has successfully completed the planned switch of its European production sites to electricity from renewable sources. This marks a key milestone in BASF Coatings’ sustainability strategy.

BASF Coatings has received certification from TÜV Rheinland for the calculation methodology of its Eco Impact Assessment tool. The independent assessment confirms that the methodology meets established standards for transparency and consistency. The certification verifies that the tool’s corporate carbon footprint calculations for body shops are aligned with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) protocol.

BASF Coatings today (March 26, 2026) announced that Jens Luehring will be appointed Chief Executive Officer upon closing of the transaction between BASF and Carlyle, which will establish a standalone coatings company. Dr. Uta Holzenkamp will continue to lead BASF Coatings until closing and will then support Jens Luehring to ensure a smooth transition.

Automotive color is where emotional design meets materials science. It influences brand identity, purchase decisions, safety perception and even sustainability. In anticipation of International Color Day on March 21, BASF Coatings is highlighting the crucial role color plays in automotive design, manufacturing and repair.

BASF Coatings inaugurates new laboratory facilities at its Breuil-le-Sec site in France, marking a key step in the development of its innovation capabilities in Europe. The opening follows the successful implementation of Lean Lab in Muenster and Wuerzburg, Germany, and in Guadalajara, Spain. 

BASF Coatings will continue to supply Volvo’s Approved Bodyshop Network with its premium paint brands Glasurit and R-M through its distribution channels in the UK. Volvo Approved body shops will have access to the most advanced and efficient refinish practices and solutions. The partnership will also mean that Volvo Approved body shops can benefit from the most advanced technical support and training.

BASF Coatings has launched a new digital solution to calculate the carbon footprint (Product Carbon Footprint, PCF) of its sales portfolio. The solution replaces an internally developed application that BASF Coatings has used for several years to provide reliable CO₂ data to customers worldwide. The company now has an agile, real-time, auditable, and globally applicable CO₂ data basis for 120,000 sales products.

In 2025, the global automotive color landscape reflects a clear shift toward individuality and nature-inspired aesthetics as consumers continue to move away from traditional favorites, as analyzed by BASF Coatings in the latest Color Report for Automotive OEM Coatings. Green emerges as the strongest growing chromatic signal worldwide, continuing its steady rise and making it into the Top 3 led by blue and red. Once dominant, both colors decline year after year. 

BASF Coatings has been awarded with the Green Impact Pioneer Award at the European Chamber’s 12th corporate social responsibility (CSR) Awards held in Nanjing, China. The ceremony highlighted the unwavering corporate social responsibility across the European business community in China and honors excellence in sustainability across multiple categories. The jury honored BASF Coatings’ CathoGuard^® 800RE cathodic electrodeposition coating (e-coat) for delivering measurable environmental and operational benefits in automotive coatings. 

With a new laboratory at its site in Wuerzburg, Germany, BASF Coatings reinforces its position as a pioneer in digitalization, occupational safety, efficiency, and sustainability. The innovative “Lean Lab” concept focuses on developing and producing waterborne basecoats for customers in the European automotive industry.  

The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) set a global plan for peace and prosperity. They were adopted ten years ago, in September 2015, at the UN World Summit. BASF Coatings supports selected SDGs through its own priorities and concrete measures. 

BASF Coatings has successfully commissioned a state-of-the-art production plant for automotive OEM coatings at its Muenster site in Germany. The new facility is designed to produce high-runner products, namely colors that currently represent the majority of market demand, and ensure consistent product quality and enhanced production efficiency.

Chemetall, a leading provider of innovative surface treatment solutions and the global surface treatment business unit of BASF Coatings, has signed a strategic partnership with Londian Wason (Shenzhen) Holdings Group Co., Ltd. (Londian Wason), a global leader in the new energy and electronic materials sector and one of the largest producers of lithium battery copper foil.

BASF’s Coatings division has been honored with the prestigious MATERIALICA Design + Technology Award 2025 in the category Material for its trend color REVERENCE DARKNESS. This award, presented annually at the eMove360° trade fair in Munich, celebrates groundbreaking innovations that unite aesthetics, technological progress, and sustainability. 

BASF Coatings has announced an expanded collaboration with Xiaomi, supporting the automaker’s plan to co-develop 100 car paint colors over the next three years. The initiative aims to drive innovation and personalization in automotive color design, redefining the visual language of smart mobility.  As Xiaomi’s coatings partner since 2023, BASF Coatings plays a pivotal role in this project. 

Designers from BASF Coatings have unveiled the 2025-2026 edition of the Automotive Color Trends collection. Titled DRIVING THE PROXY, the new collection explores how creative inspiration and influences can come from various sources, and serve as “proxies” or representatives to dynamically shape design decisions in the automotive industry. Sustainability and innovation remain central to the collection, with some colors incorporating renewable or recycled raw materials, while innovations such as multi-color pigments and liquid metal-like surfaces add visual sophistication.

Chemetall introduces the first chromium-free and fluoride-free passivation technology for copper foils, Gardolene D. This solution is unique in the industry and offers superior corrosion protection as well as improved performance of copper foils used in electric vehicle battery packs, energy generation and storage systems. The new Gardolene D technology sets a new benchmark for sustainability and performance while also offering long-term regulatory compliance in copper foil treatment for the battery manufacturing market.

Chemetall, the surface treatment global business unit of BASF Coatings, and Azelis, the reference innovation service provider in the specialty chemicals and food ingredients industry, have extended their distribution partnership agreement to include Thailand and the Philippines, in addition to Vietnam. Customers have access to Chemetall's innovative and high-performing surface treatment solutions and technologies, complemented by Azelis’ local market expertise and dedicated on-the-ground support.

The Surface Treatment global business unit of BASF Coatings, operating under the Chemetall brand, has again received the highest recognition of Airbus’ Supply Chain & Quality Improvement Program, known as the SQIP Award, for its outstanding high level of delivery performance and quality. This year's award ceremony took place at the Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse, France, and honored the best suppliers for their performance in 2024. 

EUROCORR 2025, the leading international conference for corrosion science and technology, takes place from September 7-11 in Stavanger, Norway. Experts from around the world work together to discover how to better protect components from corrosion. Effective protection extends the durability of components and significantly reduces the need for raw materials as well as emissions of greenhouse gases.