KaiYuan Securities: The prosperity of the plastic and composite materials industry is improving, and the trade-in program solidifies the development foundation

According to the Zhitong Finance APP, Kaiyuan Securities has released a research report stating that emerging industries in the downstream of plastics and composite materials are expected to open up development space. At the same time, the continuous growth of traditional demand is enhancing the industry’s prosperity. The requirements for lightweight in humanoid robots and eVTOL are driving an increase in demand for both high-performance plastics and composite materials. High-performance plastics and composite materials are often high-margin products. In the future, with the rapid development of industries such as humanoid robots and eVTOL, this will effectively drive profit growth in related industries, thereby enhancing industry prosperity. In terms of the development fundamentals, the trade-in policy is promoting the sales growth of new energy vehicles, home appliances, and consumer electronics in China, which will drive the demand for plastics and composite materials, becoming the fundamental support for the development of plastics and composite materials. The main viewpoints of Kaiyuan Securities are as follows: The rapid development of the robotics and low-altitude industries drives the growth of high-performance modified plastics demand, enhancing industry prosperity. In terms of robotics, since 2024, the attention on the robotics industry has been continuously catalyzed by multiple events. In October 2024, Tesla's new generation Optimus was unveiled, with a scaled cost of $20,000 to $30,000; in January 2025, Yushu Technology's Yushu H1 "Fu Xi" robot participated in the Snake Year Spring Festival Gala program "YangBOT." Yushu Technology founder Wang Xingxing attended a private enterprise symposium on February 17, 2025, and stated that AI humanoid robots would reach a new level by the end of 2025, with robots based on the service and industrial sectors expected to be applied in 2026 or 2027. The demand for lightweight and impact-resistant high-performance plastics and composite materials is increasing, and related companies are expected to benefit. In terms of the low-altitude economy, according to the Low-altitude Economy Era WeChat account, more than 20 provinces across the country released low-altitude economic action plans in 2024, with over 7,000 newly registered enterprises and an industrial fund scale reaching hundreds of billions. It is expected that by 2027, more than 5,200 low-altitude aircraft take-off and landing points will be established nationwide, with electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL) playing an important role in the low-altitude economy. eVTOL has requirements for materials in terms of lightweight, high strength, high corrosion resistance, and fatigue resistance, and high-performance plastics and composite materials that meet these requirements are expected to benefit in the future. The trade-in policy continues to advance, solidifying the development fundamentals of plastics and composite materials. Driven by the trade-in policy, the sales of new energy vehicles and the production of home appliances in China have rapidly increased year-on-year. According to Wind data and the Industrial Online WeChat account, in January 2025, the sales of new energy vehicles in China reached 944,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 29.44%; in February 2025, the total production of air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines reached 29.14 million units, a 30.6% increase compared to the same period in 2024. In the future, as the trade-in policy continues to advance, the sales growth of new energy vehicles, home appliances, and consumer electronics in China will drive the demand for plastics and composite materials, becoming the fundamental support for the development of plastics and composite materials