The white cars are the most popular worldwide

For the tenth consecutive year, white cars are the most popular worldwide. More than a third of the world’s vehicles are white, followed by black and grey. Paint supplier Axalta has revealed that white cars account for 38% of all vehicles on the world’s roads, while 19% of vehicles are black, making it the second most common colour. In third place is grey, seen on 15% of vehicles.

This is the third consecutive year in which white vehicles have accounted for 38% of global traffic. Black has also historically been drivers’ favourite, being the preferred colour for luxury vehicles. In Europe, 62% of all luxury vehicles are grey or black, Axalta has noted. Although white is the most common colour overall, there are differences between regions.

White, the most chosen colour by drivers worldwide

White is most common in China, for example, representing 57% of the vehicle fleet, while in Europe, white shares the top honours with grey, each accounting for 25% of vehicles. Yellow and gold, by contrast, are unpopular in many countries, but they adorn 5% of all vehicles in China. On the other hand, Chinese buyers do not like blue vehicles, which account for only 3% of vehicles there, and blue is the colour of just 11% of vehicles in South Korea.

Axalta’s figures do not include separate measurements for Europe, but the figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders published last year showed that Europe’s favourite car colour was grey, which contradicted the global trend. More than one in five new cars (22.6%) leaving the factories were grey, with white and black in second and third place. In Scotland and the Channel Islands they were more in line with global trends, preferring white, which was also the most common colour for drivers of zero-emission vehicles. In the UK in 2019, black was the colour chosen for executive and luxury saloons.

Axalta Coating Systems is a leading international supplier of liquid and powder paints and coatings. This multinational produces the Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, which shows trends in drivers’ colour preferences around the world. The edition for this year has recently been published, reporting that white tops the ranking of colour choices worldwide. White first occupied this position in 2011, when it displaced grey as the reference colour, and since then it has remained the main choice among drivers.

Axalta Coating Systems’ study is very useful for brands in anticipating colour choice trends for the short and medium term. Among the consequences of the study presented, it is anticipated that there will be greater demand for bright reds, intense blues and violets. The study also concludes that “warm tones are gaining popularity in earthy shades of green, bronze, red and beige. Finally, cool tones maintain interest in white, grey and black”.