Rainbow colours gaining ground, even as car buyers continue to prefer white and grey - BASF study

Even as achromatic hues of white, black, silver and grey continue to dominate the global automobile market in 2022, a recent analysis from chemical engineering company BASF revealed that rainbow colours continue to expand, with increasing market shares of colours such as yellow, orange, green and violet.

Despite the colour shift, the achromatic colours — white, black, silver, and grey — remained consistent, coating the majority of non-commercial cars produced in 2022. White is still the most popular car colour in the world, as it has been for some years, due to its classic, timeless beauty and high resale value, the BASF study found.

If purchasers did not select achromatic colours, they frequently chose blue or red. While those two colours remain popular, additional chromatic colours such as yellow, orange, green, and violet are gaining market share in most parts of the world, the report added.

Though no country-specific data is included in the survey, white was found to be the most preferred colour among automobile consumers in the Asia Pacific region, which includes India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

However, there has been a growth in grey tones, indicating a new era in the automobile sector as well as shifting attitudes and habits of car customers, according to the survey.

While the total numbers aren't big, brown, green and violet are all consistent in their popularity.

It will be a long time before they threaten white as the most popular colour, but for now, they add to Asia Pacific's tremendous diversity of colour, the authors of the report emphasise. This is especially true for small vehicles and NEVs, which come in a broader variety of colours. Gray increased nearly six percentage points in popularity, displacing blue, red, gold and brown. “Gray is more attractive and popular than ever. Users never give up pursuing uniqueness and individuality in achromatic colours,” said Chiharu Matsuhara, Head of Design, Asia Pacific, BASF.

“Some grey shades with blue or violet undertones are working their way into the market, with solid-like effects and also added colour pearl effects showing great diversity in the colour space.” Matsuhara added.