Materials from BASF Help Make New Yamaha Concept Vehicle Comfortable for Short Distance Travel

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News Release

Materials from BASF help make new Yamaha concept vehicle comfortable for short distance travel

Three-wheeled concept model 05GEN adopts BASF’s plastics solutions including Infinergy® and Elastollan®

With the help of BASF’s versatile plastic materials, the new three-wheeled concept vehicle 05GEN from Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd (“Yamaha”) makes short journeys both comfortable and convenient. This new generation electric-assist vehicle is on display at the Toyo ItoMuseum of Architecture, Imabari, Omishima Island in Japan from July 14, 2016, until June 15, 2017.

In modern vehicles, tires are key to a comfortable and relaxing ride. BASF’s Infinergy®, the world’s first expanded thermoplastic polyurethane, and Elastollan®, a thermoplastic polyurethane, are used in the 05GEN’s tires to enhance the overall riding experience. The characteristic cellular structure of Infinergy contributes to its striking design. Additionally, Elastollan makes possible a variety of textures and colors on the surface of the tires.

Andy Postlethwaite, Senior Vice President, Performance Materials Asia Pacific said, “Yamaha’s new-generation vehicle aims to improve the riding experience and quality for travelers moving short distances. This resonates with us well because at designfabrik®, we help translate ideas into daily products that improve people’s quality of life. By offering our consulting services on color, material, and finish development, we helped Yamaha realize their design concept of ‘Refined Dynamism’.”

designfabrik Tokyo supports industrial designers and engineers in turning creative ideas into actual products at every stage of product developmentby offering expert advice on potential application of various materials.

About YamahaMotor’s new generation design concept models

Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. has put their support behind the 'island development' of Mr. Toyo Ito, an architect, on the island of Omishima (Imabari, Ehime Prefecture), to design a concept model of a new generation minimal assist mobility vehicle intended to connect people with people and people with places, moving slowly across short distances within the scope of a person's living sphere. This concept flies in the face of many mobility vehicle designs up to now which have focused on more efficiently moving people with speed and across greater distances.

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 112,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of more than €70 billion in 2015. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). More information at: