International. Axalta released its 66th annual Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, which showcases white as the global leader in color choice for consumer vehicles in 2018.
At a staggering 38 percent, white took its first place with a significant gap ahead of second place black (18 percent) and a tie for third place between silver and gray (12 percent).
Regionally, black and gray experienced significant increases in notable areas. Black jumped in China (5%), Asia (3%), South Korea and Africa (both 2%). Grey gained ground in Africa (3%) and Europe (2%).
"We have witnessed an emerging trend toward warmer shades along with color combinations with black to challenge the position of whites," said Nancy Lockhart, Global Color Marketing Manager at Axalta. "Although neutral spaces are the protagonists, there is an indication of a color change to change the automotive landscape. Blue is the most popular outside of neutrals and remains strong in the seven percent market, orange and bronze increases are popping up and gaining interest."
Regional highlights of the 2018 report include:
- Asia: Even with a drop of one percent, yellow/gold is the most popular in India and China. Blue is being reimagined in Japan as an ecological shadow. In Korea, black increased by two percent.
- Europe: Europe is experiencing an upward trend of grey with an increase of two percent.
- North America: Brown/beige experienced a two percent increase year over year; that's the biggest gain for any region.
- Russia: the most popular region for brown/beige with nine percent, Russia is followed by China with seven percent.
- South America: Red decreased one point to eight percent, making this region second only to North America (9%).
- South Africa: Orange shows an increase from 2017, and 3.6 percent of all vehicles are in the "Other" category.
