International. Axalta Coating Systems has released the findings of its 65th Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, which shows white as the global leader in color choices for consumer vehicles in 2017, followed by black, in second place, with 16%, and gray and silver tied for third place, for the second year in a row, with 11%.
Axalta's 2017 Color Popularity report also found:
Around the world: Based on the number one position of whites, a trend of pearl colors shining in luxury vehicles has developed. White pearl tones increased by four percent in 2017.
- Africa: up three percentage points more, gray enters double digits at 11 percent.
- Asia: White dominates and is the choice in 52 percent of vehicles sold in the region. China has the highest use of white anywhere at 62 percent. Japan uses more pearly white tones at 28 percent.
- Europe: At 20 percent, grey is more popular in Europe than in any other region.
- North America: Blue is gaining popularity, especially in the compact/sports segment, where it increased six percentage points to a total of 16 percent.
- Russia: The top color, white, rose from 28 percent to 32 percent, while silver also rose three percentage points.
- South America: Grey is the rising star in South America that goes from eight percent to 11 percent.
"With its modern appeal, white remains the biggest seller worldwide," said Nancy Lockhart, Axalta's Director of Global Color Marketing. "Pearlescent whites gained four percent popularity this year, as this multilayer color is used in all segments and has the highest use in Japan. Overall, light and bright colors continue to gain traction as light gray and shades of light to medium blue have a greater interest in the market."
"Car color evolves over time," says Elke Dirks, Axalta Automotive's OEM color designer in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "Recently, blue has been trending in several versions, from highly chromatic tones to light metallic colors, and gray has been on the rise as the next neutral competitor."
