Colour Your World: Survey says paint shade is a key buying factor

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Of all the decisions to be made when selecting a vehicle, its paint colour is probably the most obvious to everyone around you – save for the make and model itself, of course. Axalta (you may know them as DuPont) has released some survey results to back up this notion.

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After speaking with vehicle owners in the world’s four largest car-producing nations (China, America, Germany, and Mexico), it’s clear that while shades of gray remain popular, the so-called ‘real colours’ are once again becoming well-liked. In fact, hues of red and blue are sought after, to the point where it is the number one preferred colour by customers in Mexico.

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“The psychology of color is a powerful influencing factor in automotive purchasing decisions. Frequently, color reflects the personality of the vehicle owner,” said Nancy Lockhart, Global Color Manager, Mobility Coatings at Axalta. “What’s interesting is that elegance, stability, and positivity were predominant color characteristics desired by respondents surveyed.”

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Stripping away the marketing fluff, this means that some buyers have a very personal connection to the colour of their car. In fact, the Axalta study showed that colour is important for a whopping 99 per cent of shoppers in China, and 64 per cent would actually change manufacturers if they didn’t find their preferred colour. Fortunately for car makers, almost 55 per cent of customers in that market simply prefer a black or white vehicle. Red and blue ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.

On this side of the pond, American and Mexican consumers placed paint shades that actually appear in visible light much higher on their scale of preference. Red, at 22 per cent, was the top choice in Mexico. Drilling down into results from the States, the study shows that pickup truck owners are choosing more colourful versions of blue (number 2) and red (number 3).

Axalta has been publishing its annual Color Popularity Report for the better part of seven decades. Fun fact, the scourge of black and white cars didn’t really take off until the late ’90s. Prior to that time, there was no trouble finding interesting colours as popular consumer choices. And, yes – teal was the top colour in the mid-’90s.

You can check out details of this report and those from previous years on their website.