Recently, the technology company Continental further improved the widely recognized interior material Acella and successfully developed a groundbreaking solution to remove the odor of new cars that makes many drivers feel unpleasant. Engineers at Continental's Hornschuch (China) plant have formulated orange-flavored, male-flavored and green tea-flavored interior materials by adding flavors to automotive interior materials. With this innovation, the customized scent Acella interior material of Continental Group Benecke Hongschuch won the "Automotive Innovation Technology Award" from the German Vogel Media Group "AI Automobile Manufacturing".
The award recognizes technological progress and performance improvements in the automotive field. "This shows that we have always provided suitable solutions for our partners and their customers. This achievement has been successfully developed in China. China needs a trend-setting mobile travel solution, and we fully adhere to the concept of being based on the market and serving the market." Said Cai Dongdan, one of the Hornschuch R&D team members.
According to the "2018 China New Car Quality Research Report", many Chinese car customers are dissatisfied with the smell of new cars. More than 10% of drivers complained that their new car smelled, which is the third consecutive year that the number has been higher than 10%. In fact, the issue of odor is more important than the problem that immediately follows-high fuel consumption.
"When the customer explained to us the complaint from car buyers, we actually had a solution. Before that, we had already carried out our own research work based on market trends, so we soon developed a customized scent Acella interior "Materials," said Cai Dongdan, "because customers report an increase in odor problems in cars, we realize that we must solve this problem. Car interiors affect people's senses-the overall feeling of all shapes, materials and skins determines whether people want Buy a certain car. The smell of interior materials is no exception."
The skin material experts at Continental's Zhangjiagang plant have devised a method, which recently expanded its research and development facilities and successfully added fragrances to standard Acella decorative skin materials. Because the development cycle of a brand-new material is long and costly, they used this method to upgrade the existing material, and in the process recommended several flavor types, doing everything possible to meet customer requirements. "This is a fresh and elegant fruity scent, favored by automakers and customers. From the initial investigation to mass production, we only spent one year." Since then, the R&D team developed it in just 6 months. The other two flavor types-green tea type and male type. "These pleasant new scents create a good atmosphere for car buyers, and our customers are very happy that we can solve the odor problem in such a short time," Cai continued.
In addition, Continental has also designed different concentrations for the above scents. The smell of a new car will disappear after a period of time, as will the smell. "Our original intention was not to keep the fragrance in the car's service life. According to the selected concentration, the fragrance can be emitted for 6-8 months, and then completely dissipated." Cai said.
In addition to customer requirements, China's "Guidelines for Evaluation of Air Quality in Passenger Cars" also stipulate air quality in cars. The guidelines stipulate the limits of 8 types of volatile organic compounds (VOC), including harmful gases emitted mainly by solvents and synthetic materials. These 8 types of VOCs are often the culprits of odors in cars. In view of this, China's automotive industry and end customers pay special attention to interior materials. "Of course, the flavored Acella does not contain heavy metal stabilizers and has passed the VOC test." Cai confirmed. Continental even consulted with government departments on a unified measurement method for air quality in the car. The technology company uses industry-recognized European and American standards to self-test the emission levels of all its materials to detect any substances that may be harmful to health.
In terms of reducing the odor and VOC emissions of automotive interiors, Continental’s low-emission, low-odor, non-allergenic coating material Acella Eco is a representative product in this regard. Since the content of all solvents and plasticizer systems related to emissions are kept to the absolute minimum, this series of materials can ensure healthy and pleasant air in the car. As a material expert, Continental has successfully developed high-quality environmentally friendly products such as Acella Eco, which reduces odors, and developed customized odor Acella interior materials based on brilliant ideas, showing its innovative advantages time and time again.
In addition, in order to realize the desire to create a living space in the car, Zhangjiagang engineers have been committed to upgrading the coating materials. They developed the translucent decorative material Acella Hylite Concept to achieve special lighting effects. Light effects, luminous signs, buttons or applications can be integrated behind this skin material.