What are the body colours preferred by buyers?

When buying a car, choosing the colour is an important step, so we are going to tell you which body colours are the most popular in the world.

Buying a car is a truly important decision, since it is the second largest outlay we can make after a house. There are exceptions to this, as some cars such as the Lamborghini Sián cost more than many mansions.

However, if you are a down-to-earth person and are going to buy a car, the first thing is to be clear about your budget, the second is what type of car you need and the third is to choose the model that best suits all of these variables. Once all of this has been decided, there is one last step: What colour should I buy my car in?

It is true that when buying a used car you cannot choose its colour, but you can heed our tips for buying a second-hand car.

Let us focus on this last point, because the question we are asking is simple: what is the most popular car colour among buyers? Well, it seems that white is the colour chosen most often in the world, and no less than 49% of drivers opt for this shade when buying a new car. The colours that complete this podium are black and grey, so it seems the general trend is discretion.

White, the king of body colours

White is the favourite colour worldwide; however, its dominance varies depending on the region we focus on. While in Asia its dominance is overwhelming –six out of every ten cars are white– in Europe and the United States the share is around 25%.

This study was shared by Seat, so the brand has also made its own data public. The Spanish manufacturer also confirms that white is the first choice in the brand’s ten main markets, except for the Netherlands, whose favourite colours are grey and black. The biggest difference is in our country, since 45% of the Seat sold in Spain are white.

Black, the second favourite choice

In second place we have black, with 16% of the global share, although, just as with its opposite, there are variations depending on the region studied. For example, 22% of the cars sold in Japan are black and, by contrast, this colour is practically non-existent in India –mainly due to the belief that black attracts more heat–.

It is in the Mediterranean countries where we opt for the most eye-catching and vibrant colours. In Spain, Seat has stated that red is the third colour in which it sells the most cars and, in Italy, it ranks fourth. For its part, blue accounts for 10% of sales both in Europe and in the United States, while in the Asian market it is practically unrepresented.

The type of car being bought also has a great influence on the choice of colour. In Europe, 34% of the SUVs sold are black, while in the compact segment this figure is halved. Likewise, only 3% of luxury vehicle buyers choose red, while in the compact segment 10% of buyers do.