Toyota Developing Color-Changing Paint

Toyota has filed a patent application for color change paint, a technology that would allow owners and dealers to quickly change the color of their vehicles.

As Toyota states in its application, the patent was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on March 19, but was originally filed in 2022. Toyota suggests that dealers could also change the color of the car to make it easier to sell.

But instead of complicated repaints and vinyl wraps, Toyota claims to have developed a paint that can change hue in response to heat and light. As described in the application, the car is placed in a garage with heating elements like tunnels surrounding it on all sides. As the paint surface is heated, a luminous "color modulator" device passes over the paint surface to complete the discoloration.

The color modulator proposed by Toyota is controlled by a human operator or robot, essentially acting as the controller of this process. According to this application, it can communicate with a remote server and temperature sensors embedded in the car body to determine the correct settings for a particular color.

Toyota admits that it is not the first automaker to experiment with color-changing paints. As noted by the automaker in its application, BMW is conducting a similar demonstration at the 2022 CES with its iX electric SUV.

Based on the electrophoresis technology used in e-readers, the color-changing effect used by BMW was created by millions of microcapsules suspended in the exterior wrap. Electric current circulates pigments within these microcapsules, changing the exterior from white to gray to black at the push of a button.

Toyota's version appears to be slightly different, as it does not use exterior wrap as a medium. Therefore, it remains to be seen if it is more likely to reach production than BMW's design (for demonstration purposes only).