PPG data shows white continues to be most popular global car colour
TROY, Mich., Oct. 24, 2013 – PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG), the world’s leading manufacturer of transportation coatings, today released its annual automotive colour trend data, which shows that white continues to be the most popular car colour globally based on 2013 automotive build data.
According to PPG’s global data, white ranked first (up 3 per cent from last year to 25 per cent) and silver and black tied for second (18 per cent each). These were followed by grey, red, natural hues, blue and green, all of which maintained the same share of popularity as in 2012.
In Europe, white ranks first (27 per cent, up 4 per cent from 2012), followed by black (19 per cent, down 2 per cent), grey (15 per cent, down 2 per cent), silver (13 per cent), blue, natural and red (tied three ways with 6 per cent each, each down 1 per cent), and green (4 per cent, up 1 per cent) and other colours (also 4 per cent for 2013 and up 1 per cent from 2012).
“While white continues to be the most dominant choice in car colour, we see growth in the variety of whites being offered to consumers,” said Jane E. Harrington, PPG manager, colour styling, automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer) coatings. “Car manufacturers are seeking ways to create variations of white, silver, black and grey that are specific to their brands and that complement different vehicle types. Distinct effects such as micas, glass flakes, fine bright aluminium and hue-shifting pigments help them achieve this.”
In fact, across European vehicle types in 2013, PPG found that:
Looking ahead, Harrington said drivers may see more blue in 2014 models. PPG’s data has shown increases in the popularity of blue for certain regions and vehicle types, such as an increase in North America this year and more than double the popularity in sport models there between 2011 and 2013.