Patricia Scott
Automotive News
December 10, 2008 - 12:07 pm ET
White is the most popular color choice for vehicles in North America for the second year in a row.
According to the 2008 DuPont Color Popularity Report, white and white effects -- paint with pigments that lend a pearly or iridescent tinge -- accounted for 20 percent of vehicle color choice. Black and black effects tied with silver at 17 percent. Silver led the market for six straight years until 2007.
"We're seeing basic colors like black, white and silver continuing in the lead," Karen Surcina, color marketing manager for DuPont Performance Coatings, said in a company statement. "But consumers are looking for differentiation with tri-coat and other effects."
A tri-coat paint system consists of a base coat, a mid layer that contains the color and pigments responsible for the effects, and a clear top coat.
DuPont says that color preferences are becoming more alike around the world.
Europeans love black vehicles. But black effects, white, white pearl and silver are popular. And bright red is gaining.
Black and black effects command 26 percent of the European market, while silver has 20 percent, and white and white effects hold 10 percent.
Russians choose silver 30 percent of the time. But red and green are more popular there than in any other region.
India shows a strong preference for white and white effects.
Silver, though slipping in North America, remains strong in China, South Korea, Japan and India. Japan, like North America, leans toward white.
"Candy white and tri-coat pearl are extremely popular in most of the Asia Pacific area," says Emily Hung, DuPont color designer for the Asia Pacific region. "In Japan we see an overwhelming preference for white pearl or white with effects."
Surcina said that while black, white and silver dominate consumer choices around the world, a color trend is developing as people embrace environmental themes and lifestyles -- blue.
"Blue is being utilized as the 'new green' because it is well understood by people all over the world that blue can also represent the preservation of nature," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. "Imagine a clear blue sky mirrored in a pristine blue lake and you will get the picture. It is a universal favorite."