According to a recent study released by PPG Industries, white was the most popular car colour choice in 2014.

White continues to dominate as popular car colour choice

The study was conducted on over a quarter of the vehicles sold in 2014 of which white was the most popular car colour, with 28% of all new cars sporting the shade. Coming in second was black with 18%, while silver and grey tied for third place with 13%.

In addition, PPG says silver’s popularity has decreased in the last two years by 7%. White continued to grow in popularity with 25% of vehicles sold in 2013 finished in white. Two years ago, white accounted for 22 percent of new vehicle sales.

In fourth place was what PPG calls ‘natural’ colours, which include gold, beige, yellow, orange and brown. All colours make up 10% of new car sales while nine percent of new cars sold in 2014 were red.

“Car manufacturers across the world are continually seeking new ways to create a unique appearance for models and vehicle brands. As colour selection takes place two or three years in advance of a model year, it is important for auto makers to combine colour popularity with global consumer trends,” said Jane E. Harrington, PPG manager, colour styling, automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer) coatings.

“Today, automotive manufacturers can choose from a broad array of colours as well as a wide assortment of variations of conservative hues such as white, silver, black and grey, and distinct effects such as micas, glass flakes, fine bright aluminium and hue-shifting pigments.”

Regional trend highlights from the 2014 data

In North America, white remains most popular (23%), followed by black (18%), grey (16%) and silver (15%).In South America, silver and white lead in popularity (32% each), followed by black (13%), grey (11%), red (8%) and blue (2%).In Europe, white remains most popular (25%), followed by black (15%) and grey (14%), and natural shades such as golds, beiges, yellows, oranges and browns continue to grow in popularity (12%).In Asia Pacific markets, white remains most popular (31%), followed by black (20%) and silver (12%).

Looking to 2015 models, Harrington said PPG believes drivers will continue to see an increase in natural tones such as coppers, oranges and browns.

New models also may be influenced by metal tones such as bronze, pewter and rose gold, which have had a significant influence across fashion, jewellery, furniture and industrial design in recent years.