November 12 - Toronto, ON - Smart fortwo has become the first commercial vehicle to have full body panels manufactured from polypropylene. Made from Daplen ED230HP, a thermoplastic polyolefin compound developed by Borealis, the body panesl are designed to meet the cost-effective production targets and aesthetic, safety and environmental requirements of the latest Smart fortwo vehicle.

Tools for the polypropylene panels have been made by Schneider Form, Karl Krumpholz and R.S. Mecanica. As with the previous PC/PBT panels, the parts are moulded on Krauss Maffei machines at the Smart site in Hambach, France by Plastal (formerly as Dynamit Nobel).

Daplen ED 230 HP was developed jointly with Plastic Omnium and has been used already used last year in a Renault tailgate application.