White is Still the Most Popular Car Color in the World

A long time ago, car colors were significantly reduced to basic colors like white, black, blue, silver, red and green. Other lesser known colors were unheard of, and the mere mention of a purple vehicle was enough to raise a couple of eyebrows way back then.

Today, you can now find a purple McLaren, and you wouldn't even be surprised it even has that kind of color.

White Reigns Supreme

Still, with the introduction of newer and more unusual colors in the market, most drivers around the world still seem to stick with the more conservative, basic colors.

According to the 2016 Automotive Color Trends report released by global paint supplier PPG, white is still the world's most popular color, with around 38% drivers who prefer this hue for their vehicles. Next in line is black (16%), silver (12%) or gray (10%), natural colors like gold, beige, yellow, orange or brown (8%), red (8%), blue (7%), and green (1%).

Here is a breakdown of color preferences according to continents:

Asia Pacific

White - 47% Black - 14% Natural - 11% Silver - 10% Red - 7%

Europe

White - 33% Gray - 18% Black - 16% Silver - 10% Blue - 8%

South America

White - 37% Silver - 29% Black - 12% Gray - 10% Red - 8%

North America

White - 25% Black - 19% Silver - 19% Gray - 12% Red - 10%

Blue Color Gaining Traction

Despite white's worldwide popularity, recent trends show that blue is gaining a large following, as well.

Jane Harrington, a color professional at PPG for 30 years, thinks the color blue's versatility is its strength:

“You can’t do that with every color. Blue lends itself to an automaker’s customization," she explains.

You can see this trend in the Philippines. If you look closely, you'll observe that Ford Focus is well-known for its "Nitrous Blue" color.

Subaru, Volvo, and BMW also have cars that are associated with the blue color. What's more, Mercedes Benz has also jumped in the bandwagon by adding more blue variants to its models.

With all the hype blue is making, will it topple white as the most popular car color in the world? We don't think so -- at least not in the near future. Still, it's good to see that we have more options now, and people are more willing to experiment and have fun with a broader range of colors.