In recent years, the global new energy vehicle market has witnessed an explosive growth wave, expanding continuously at a compound annual growth rate of over 20%, and has become the core force supporting the upgrading of the automotive industry. With the continuous breakthroughs in power battery technology, the cruising range of mainstream models has generally exceeded 600 kilometers. Coupled with the annual increase of more than 35% in the coverage rate of public charging piles, the “range anxiety” that has long plagued consumers has been significantly alleviated. In this wave of industrial transformation, young consumer groups are becoming the main force in car purchases – data shows that car owners under the age of 35 account for more than 55%. Different from traditional car – buying groups, these “digital natives” regard cars more as mobile carriers for self – expression, and their demand for personalized decoration is increasingly strong, promoting a structural upgrading of decorative products in the automotive aftermarket.
In the field of car decoration and protection, PVC color – changing films and paint protection films have long occupied the mainstream market. PVC color – changing films, relying on mature production technology, once monopolized the color – changing film market for decades. International brands such as 3M and Avery from the United States met the personalized needs of early car owners through thousands of color options. However, the inherent defects of PVC materials have gradually been exposed: their molecular structure is poor in stability, and under long – term ultraviolet radiation, color difference and yellowing may occur within 3 – 6 months; in addition, the material has high hardness and insufficient toughness, and is easy to crack when facing gravel impact, with protective performance only reaching the basic dust – proof level. Paint protection films, on the other hand, have won over many car owners who pay attention to car paint maintenance with their excellent protective ability. Products from brands such as XPEL and AUTOLI can effectively resist scratches and acid rain erosion, but the single transparent color is difficult to meet the pursuit of young car owners for Morandi colors, gradient effects and matte textures, becoming a “stumbling block” for personalized expression.
When the traditional car film market was trapped in the dilemma that “protection and personality cannot be both achieved”, the emergence of TPU color – changing films has brought a subversive breakthrough to the industry and quickly become the “new favorite” of young car owners. TPU color – changing film, whose full name is thermoplastic polyurethane color – changing film, has a core material of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber (TPU) with a unique linear molecular structure. It not only retains the high elasticity of rubber (with an elongation at break of 300% – 500%) but also has the processability of plastic. It can achieve various colors and textures through precision coating technology. This material characteristic enables TPU color – changing films to completely break the functional boundary of traditional car films, realizing the perfect integration of personalized color changing and professional – level protection for the first time, so that car owners do not have to make a difficult choice between “appearance” and “protection”.
The excellent protective performance of TPU color – changing films stems from the mechanical properties of the material itself. TPU material has a tensile strength of up to 20MPa and excellent impact resistance. When the vehicle encounters common accidents such as flying gravel and scratches from tree branches during driving, the film surface can buffer and disperse more than 80% of the impact force through the elastic deformation of molecular chains, just like putting an “invisible armor” on the car paint. The measured data shows that when a vehicle with TPU color – changing film installed is impacted by gravel with a diameter of 5mm at a speed of 60km/h, the integrity rate of the car paint can reach 98%, which is much higher than 65% of PVC films and 30% of uncoated vehicles.
What is even more commendable is the self – healing “black technology” equipped with TPU color – changing films. Its surface uses an elastic memory self – healing coating, which is composed of special polyurethane resin and nano – level functional particles. When there are slight damages such as car wash scratches and minor collisions on the film surface, as long as in an environment of 40 – 60℃ (such as direct sunlight or warm water wiping), the material molecules can automatically fill the scratch gaps through segment movement to achieve “seamless repair”. There are significant differences in self – healing technologies among different brands. High – end products improve the repair efficiency by 3 – 5 times by optimizing the purity of TPU base material (purity up to more than 95%) and adopting a cross – linked coating structure. Take Yuneng Universe as an example, its high – performance self – healing coating can repair hairline scratches in 6 hours at 25℃ room temperature and can restore a perfect film surface in 2 – 3 hours under sunlight. It can save car owners at least 2 times of paint maintenance costs every year and greatly reduce vehicle maintenance costs.
With the continuous warming of the new energy vehicle market and the rise of young consumer groups, TPU color – changing films are reconstructing the pattern of the car decoration market with the triple advantages of “protection + personality + worry – saving”, injecting new growth momentum into the automotive aftermarket.
