Is body colour a defining factor in buying a car?

The colour of your car is a very personal choice indeed. It directly or indirectly defines your personality. But does it always play a crucial role in the car you buy? We have already discussed why white colour triumphs over other colours and you can read about it over here. With the kaleidoscopic festive season upon us, the cars in the showroom are selling like hotcakes. So, let’s have a detailed look at car colours and their influence over our buying habits.

According to numbers collected by PPG, 38 per cent of the cars sold last year were finished in white. The second-highest choice was black, with 16 per cent takers. Whereas, silver and grey settled for 12 and 10 per cent respectively. More than 75 per cent of the vehicles built globally in 2016 were white, black, grey or silver. Other colours like the natural hues (which includes gold, beige, yellow, orange, and brown) and red tied in the fifth and sixth position with eight per cent each. Blue only got seven per cent, followed by green at one per cent.

According to PPG’s data for 2016, white is most prevalent in the Asia-Pacific region (where India belongs). This achromatic colour was a choice of 47 per cent of customers last year. Partly because white is the preferred colour in the fleet market. With more and more cars taking to the road lately for reasons of commerce, the number of monochromatic cars has grown exponentially.

An interesting point to be noted here is that the car buyers aren’t too keen on the vehicle’s trademark body paint. Manufacturers go to a great extent to find a unique hue for their latest product to stand out amongst the flock of cars. Renault Duster’s woodland brown, or Mahindra’s XUV’s sunset orange are prime examples that come to mind here. Also, when was the last time you saw the fire red Swift on the road?

Weirdly though, car buyers prefer understated body colours (like white) on their imposing SUVs. Meanwhile, the expensive vehicles are always preferred in elegant, yet limited classy shades. Very few cars, and especially the performance cars, actually get to flaunt a vibrant bright-coloured paint scheme (except the Mini).

The age is also an essential factor here. While the younger audience looks for flashy colours, the older customers will only settle for a simple and discreet paint scheme. Then there are vehicle dealerships who’d manipulate the buyers to get rid of cars of slow-moving colours which have been rotting in their stockyard.

Apart from that, there is a new trend these days – dual-tone exterior. This dual-tone contrast body paint scheme adds a little more character to an otherwise simple vehicle. It provides the car with a distinct appearance and helps it stand out amongst the normal crop of cars.

By now it must be very evident that the colour of the car plays an important role when buying a car. It is an extension of one’s individuality and car buyers like to express themselves through their cars. A Ferrari in any other colour than the iconic red doesn’t really feel like a Ferrari. So, don’t go drab this festive season and get yourself a really colourful car, like maybe a Damson Purple Tata Nano.