Take a casual look in traffic and all you see is a lot of ‘black and white’. Where have all the car colors gone? There aren’t as many exciting car colors to choose from. The color white and black dominate the market share with only a few of the not-so-colorful colors being silver, grey, red and blue. In fact, these other colors had a 4% popularity in the 2019 global popularity of car colors.
According to the statistics, White was the most popular color with 39% polarity. It associates with being modern and is easier to maintain. Black is considered a classic and had 16% popularity. Gray had 13% popularity, silver 10%, Blue 9%, Red 7%, and brown was 2% popular. The popularity of these colors varies by region. For instance, the color white has 49% popularity in the Asia Pacific. The same color has 29% popularity within EMEA and North America regions while it is 39% popular in South America. Black is more popular in North America than the regions with 21% popularity rating. Gray appears to be more popular in Europe, Middle East and African regions. In south America, Silver is a popular car color compared to the other regions. Blue is a popular color in Europe and African region while red is more popular in North America with 10% rating.
With so many colors to pick from, why is the world dominated by boring colors?
One thing is certain. Boring is working. There is a very strong demand for boring colors and manufacturers are obliging the demand. Critics would argue most buyers are lacking in imagination. When it comes to choosing a car color, they are not picky and do not minding blending in with others. Consumers just like to keep it simple.
The resale value of cars has something to do with the choice of boring colors. When buying a car, most people go for colors that will be popular at the time of reselling the car. A car with a funky color might not get a lot of secondhand car buyers once it gets old.
Also, boring colors don’t stand out. It is safer to pick a color that lots of other people have chosen, as opposed to standing out. A car is simply a transportation tool for majority. They may not want it a canvas representation of their style.
