The world's most popular car colour is... white

By Tim Beissmann | October 06th, 2011

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After 10 years at the top, silver has been overtaken by white as the world’s most popular car colour.

Data released by PPG Industries, the world’s leading manufacturer of transportation coatings, reveals approximately 21 per cent of 2011 model year vehicles have been finished in white, while silver and black are tied in second place on 20 per cent.

Vehicles colour preferences are decidedly different depending on the region.

In our Asia/Pacific region, silver cars have accounted for one quarter of all purchases so far in 2011. White is the next most popular colour (23 per cent), followed by black (17 per cent), red (10 per cent), grey (eight per cent) and blue (seven per cent).

The figures in Europe are very different, however, where black is the most popular car colour (26 per cent), followed by white (19 per cent), silver (16 per cent) and grey (15 per cent).

According to a PPG survey, more than three-quarters of car buyers said exterior colour was a factor in their purchase decision, and almost one-third said they would be willing to pay extra for a vehicle that expresses their personality through colour.

Forty per cent said they would prefer a larger range of colours to choose from when buying a car.

And they may get their way soon, as PPG recently presented 70 new colour samples to automotive designers for consideration as they design 2014-2015 model year cars.

Among the new colours were Grape Spritz, a blue fused with a purple highlight; Muddy Waters, a tone of brown with a pearl lustre effect; Pot O’Gold, a light green with a hint of gold; White Nougat, a soft creamy white with a highlight sparkle; and Goldeluxe, a silver with an influence of a gold.

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stuzz

just got into my new white car and out of my old silver beast. I can relate.
- R-Series
  
  Totally agree, Looks good dirty, even better when clean
  - Grammar Nazi
    
    I’m going to have to disagree and say that black will stand the test of time and always be the baddest/coolest colour. Can’t help but think that white is a bit ‘now’.
    - stuzz
      
      the problem with black is that it doesnt stand the test of time, its a stylish look but too much of effort. My weekend ride is black, it’s a nightmare of a colour to keep looking good. Slight scratches and waterspots stick out like dogs”’ I would not own a black daily driver.
Giorgio

Totally can relate. Just traded my silver car in for a metallic white Subaru
http://caradvice OSU811

I know whenever I buy a new car, I only order white, met white or pearl white-)
m2m

Black to white convert here! Will probably never buy anything else!

I’d say the trend is due to the stunning whites that are now available. Mazda, Lexus and BMW have definitely got it right!
Danny

Why does everyone like the white, looks, easy to clean, resale value??
- F1MotoGP
  
  I was reading somewhere that white resale value is higher than black and cheaper to insure.
  - Jess
    
    Rubish, I’ve never had a policy where they ask me the colour of the car.
    - Ryan
      
      Do you even have car insurance?
      
      For any comprehensive car insurance policy requires to ask for colour of the car.
      
      Black being the most dangerous on the road due to visiability in storms and at night, and Green being a statistic for the most common colour car in car accidents.
- Tom
  
  Doesn’t get as hot as darker colours – notice how black is the most popular colour in Europe, but white and silver are more popular in the warmer Asia/Pacific region.
Ample Parking

For all of the people in the world that moan about how boring Toyotas are (bland, whitegoods on wheels, etc.) I can’t believe how many of you buy white cars.

A white paintjob is a sure fire way of making your car look about half as cool and twice as bland as it would in at least silver.

Just look at the Lambo and the 458 pictured in the article. Two of the sexiest ever carzzzzzzzzzzzzz……..
- theillestlife
  
  you missed the GT-R and LF-A. Two more sexy cars.
  - Jess
    
    Some cars look great in white especially the ones with a lot of black contrasts. Other cars look crap in white. Now when it comes to Toyota doesn’t matter what colour you choose it will always resemble, feel and drive like white-goods. Look up the word boring in the dictionary and you will find a picture of the current Toyota car line-up and it’s driver waving back lol.
dadar

I bought my Civic Type R in Milano Red, but only because they didn’t have one in Championship White.. But what do you know, they released that colour for that car just a couple of months after I took delivery of my car!! *GRR*
*disappointed*
And I know that everytime I see a Type R in Champ White, I envy them…
- Jess
  
  They look good in red too. I would be more worried about the fact that red fades quicker than any other colour. UV and the pigment in red paint don’t seem to get along very well.
UMWHAT

I’m surprised silver lasted so long, or was even the first choice in the first place

that colour is seriously boring and dull. no matter what car you have it always looks like it’s 7 years old in silver. it also looks like they forgot to paint it

yeah i hate silver that much
Frostie

The two cars I would own are an R34 GT-R V-Spec II NUR in white and an FPV F6 in Winter White. White just looks so good.
- Robert
  
  the white on a Focus RS looks almost better than the lime green they offer
Sonic

I will never understand people who go out and buy a flat white Corolla, Camry, Commodore, etc. However there have been some cars coming out recently which look excellent in Pearl or Metallic white. I see an MX-5 in that deep pearl-ish white everyday, and it looks great.
- stuzz
  
  some people dont want attention. Just a car that blends into the carpark.
John Citizen

ill take any of the above cars in any colour!
Kev

recently purchased a new territory in “Vanish” an extremely dark blue,nearly black. I can easily find it in a carpark amongst all the boring white and silver vehicles. Just love the colour
Jacob

There should be a tax on white paint.
vdubber

candy white ftw
TJ

White is the new black.
And you can probably thank the white consumer goods (iPhones, iPads) for that trend too.

Not to mention cars with DRL’s look that much better when presented in white…
gti

White is the most boring shade ever to be presented on a car. Silver, on most cars, is next. When half the cars on the road are a brand’s variation of white or silver, a car with colour is a welcome thing.

A reader posted above how easy it is finding his blue car in a carpark filled with a sea of white and silver cars. Same here with my red car. Plus, red goes faster!
- stuzz
  
  and red fades faster. So many people driving pink cars that were red a couple of years back.
Golfschwein

The lack of colour availability generally is depressing, but my white Astra was much cooler inside on a hot day than my previous red window tinted Astra. Two Astras. Long story
Me&myVZ

I own a White Commodore Sonic, and to be honest I wouldn’t have gone any other colour. White is a great colour, easy to maintain and I recon it does stand out being white. With the Black interior and shiny alloy wheels on a white Commodore like mine, it just looks gorgeous. I’ve owned a very well looked after red car, it spent most it’s life in my garage as do all my cars and still faded! I’ve owned a black car too and no matter how well I looked after it, swirl marks and scratches were insane, and its true about how much quicker black cars heat up in the sun. So White cars all way I say!
Callaway

A white colour is by far most modest I can imagine. I remember the communist era around here and you could usually choose from white and … plain something. Everybody tried to have at least something than white. It is hard to believe that this ordinal boring colours is becoming so popular in the modern world. I vote for black, silver, red or anything interesting but the boring white.