Brown dominated the 1990s but it’s a surprisingly bright colour that has doubled in popularity over the last 12 months. So, what is the most popular car colour in 2024?
Original story by John Carey first published in Drive on 23 January, 1998
The wide brown land is set to become the metallic light brown country if Australia follows the US trend in car colours.
Green and white remain the colours favoured by American car buyers, but the swing to metallic light brown is gathering momentum. The same trend should be evident in Australia before the year 2000.
DuPont Automotive, the world’s biggest supplier of car paint, each year tracks the colours preferred by buyers of North American-built vehicles. It aims to predict trends four to six years in advance of production.
Last year’s findings support previous DuPont analysis that more and more car buyers want “earth tones with brighter hues, punctuated by colours that evoke high technology” as the century draws to a close.
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Phil May, local marketing manager for DuPont Automotive, says colour preference trends in Australia usually trail the US by 18 months to two years. There’s just one exception.
“Americans still love black, and that’s one aspect where we don’t follow them,” says May.
Last year black was the third or fourth most popular colour in each of the four categories of the DuPont survey.
Light brown metallic, the most popular colour for luxury cars in 1996, was chosen by an even higher percentage of buyers in 1997. Its popularity with buyers of all other types of vehicle is also increasing. Medium/dark green is in decline everywhere except luxury cars; white is waning across the board.
DuPont also found grey remained the favourite colour for car interiors last year, trailed distantly by beige/brown and blue. John Carey
What are the most popular car colours in the world today?
Strap in for a surprise, because black is the new black. According to BASF Coatings, a global giant in automotive colour, black cars are back in vogue.
BASF’s latest annual Colour Report for Automotive OEM Coatings has revealed that an achromatic shift has taken place, as “consumers move away from traditional favourites like white and silver”.
The report reveals that while white remains the dominant new car colour around the world (34 per cent), black (22 per cent) and grey (17 per cent) are on the rise, up 1 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.
This shift has come at the expense of white (down 2 per cent), silver (down 1 per cent) and blue, also down 1 per cent.
Interestingly, BASF’s report revealed that “yellow has doubled its market share, and the appeal of warm neutral colours is on the rise”. Admittedly, yellow’s increase of 1 per cent is coming off a low base, now sitting at 1.5 per cent of global new car sales in 2024.
According to BASF, the share of achromatic colours (white, black, grey, and silver) remains stable at 81 per cent of new car sales. Blue (7 per cent) remains the most popular chromatic colour, ahead of red (4 per cent), green (2 per cent) and yellow (1.5 per cent).
What are the most popular car colours in Australia?
While BASF’s Colour Report for 2024 doesn’t specifically reveal colour trends for Australia, the company’s findings for the Asia-Pacific region, which includes Australia, follow a similar trend to the rest of the world, namely that the popularity of black, grey and yellow are on the rise at the expense of white, silver and blue.
Black cars now account for 24 per cent of the market while grey’s market share has risen to 15 per cent. White (38 per cent) remains the dominant colour.
Yellow has doubled its market share, up 1 per cent to now account for 2 per cent of total new car sales, driven by, according to BASF’s Colour Report, “softer tones like pastel and greige yellow leading the way.
“These shades resonate with themes of AI human harmony and sustainability, especially in electric vehicle design. Those are reflecting a shift toward harmonious, optimistic colour palettes.”
What are the best-selling car colours in America?
The Americas have seen a seismic shift in consumer sentiment, with grey cars surging in popularity, doubling its market share to 20 per cent.
According to BASF Coating’s Senior Design Manager, Victoria Fislage, “grey is redefining automotive style, gaining popularity for its versatile sophistication as preferences shift away from traditional white and black.”
Grey’s rise has come at the expense of white (down 5 per cent), black (down 2 per cent) and red (down 1 per cent) while sales of blue and green cars are on the increases, both up 1 per cent.
What is trending in Europe, the Middle East and Africa?
Defying global trends, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) has seen a surge in popularity of neutral tones with beige in particular doubling its market share.
According to Mark Gutjahr, Global Head of Automotive Colour Design at BASF Coatings, “Beige and neutral colours evoke a sense of calm and sophistication, reflecting the desire for stability in a fast-paced world. They allow consumers to express their individuality while ensuring a timeless elegance in automotive design.”
The most popular car colour remains white at 27 per cent, although it has dropped 2 per cent in the last 12 months. Similarly, blue cars have fallen 2 per cent while orange cars are down 1 per cent.
Grey continues to be the second-most popular colour, with 22 per cent of the market ahead of black (20 per cent) and silver (11 per cent).
What is the future of paint trends?
According to BASF Coatings, tomorrow’s new car colours will feature “new reds with intense purple shades, signifying a shift from darker and blueish reds” while “the spectrum of pastel colours continues to diversify, for example in beige and light green tones already available in the market, as well as in unusual intermediate tones”.
BASF Coatings added that the achromatic palette will continue to evolve, “energised by intense colour effects, offering dynamism beyond solid black.
“Fine metallic effects are particularly characterised by strong effects on the surface, which give metallics new radiance.” RM
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