The utilization of recycled materials in the automotive industry is gaining increasing attention worldwide. Recently, the European Commission proposed that by 2030, new cars must incorporate at least 25% recycled plastic, with 6.25% originating from end-of-life vehicles. Similarly, in March 2024, China’s State Council released the “Action Plan for Promoting Large-scale Equipment Renewal and Consumer Goods Trade-in,” emphasizing the optimization of the layout of scrap car recycling and dismantling enterprises to further facilitate resource recycling.
As China’s car ownership continues to rise, the number of scrap cars is also increasing year by year. Statistics show that the annual number of scrap cars in China has exceeded 10 million and is continuously rising. This situation has brought unprecedented market opportunities and development prospects to the car dismantling industry. However, the recycling situation of scrap cars is not ideal. Due to imperfections in the recycling network, low recycling prices, and insufficient awareness of the scrap process among car owners, some scrap cars fail to enter formal recycling channels and are lost in the market, being illegally dismantled or used for illegitimate purposes. This not only causes serious environmental pollution but also wastes valuable recycled resources. Among them, plastic products in scrap cars, such as bumpers and headlights, are most easily confused and adulterated, restricting the quality of recycled ABS products.
In recent years, the recycled ABS market has been restricted by the impact of the less-than-ideal economic recovery, and the shipment situation of recycling enterprises has fallen far short of expectations. However, since the State Council issued policies related to car dismantling in 2024, various provinces and cities have actively promoted it, and the recovery of automotive waste plastics has increased significantly. According to data, the recovery of automotive waste plastics reached about 600,000 tons in the first half of 2024. The increase in recovery has improved the quality of recycled ABS plastic particles. Simultaneously, as the demand for cost-effective products in the end market increases, recycling companies are paying more attention to high-end quality materials, and modified customized product services have become the focus of recycled ABS companies.
Regarding the later market for recycled ABS, industry insiders have mixed views. According to the understanding of Color Masterbatch Industry Network, 45% of the personnel believe that the market still has favorable support and there is considerable room for development in the future; but 30% of the personnel are not confident in the later market, believing that competition pressure in the industry is constantly escalating, and market prices are difficult to boost; another 25% of market personnel are waiting and seeing, expecting more favorable policies in China to promote the healthy development of the industry.
Looking ahead, favorable macro policy guidance, broad prospects for the car dismantling industry, continuous growth in market demand, continuous advancement of technological progress and industrial upgrading, as well as increased awareness of environmental protection and resource recycling, will continue to promote the recycling of plastic from scrap cars. The upstream raw material supply of recycled ABS will be further expanded, which will help improve the quality of recycled ABS particles. At the same time, the market price of new ABS materials is showing a characteristic of being easy to rise but difficult to fall due to futures and the proactive production reduction and shutdown maintenance behaviors of petrochemical manufacturers. The market endurance is significantly enhanced. Under the continuous favorable stimulation of macroeconomics, new materials, and future demand, the price of recycled ABS will show a possibility of slow upward adjustment. According to estimates from OilChem, the price of recycled ABS will remain stable from July to August, while there is a possibility of an increase of 100-300 yuan/ton from September to October.