Axalta’s Color Popularity Report Released

Axalta Coating Systems, a global manufacturer of automotive coatings and an authority on color and color trending information for the automotive industry, announced in January the publication of its annual automotive color popularity report for 2013. The report, produced since 1953, is the most comprehensive in the industry as regional automotive market color preferences are continuously tracked. This year’s report includes Say it with Color! Axalta’s forecast of four color megatrends for automotive designers around the world.

Continuing a 60-year tradition, the Axalta Coating Systems 2013 Color Popularity Report reviews the past year of automotive color choices and forecasts the trends ahead around the world. With more than 145 years of experience developing automotive colors, Axalta has a unique understanding of color science and technologies that shape industry trends and help manufacturers meet evolving consumer preferences.

White strengthened its position as the most popular automotive color among consumers worldwide in 2013, growing in popularity by six percentage points over the prior year. Within the white space, 22 percent of vehicles were solid white and 7 percent were pearl white. Black was the second most popular color globally, with 20 percent of sales, but effect black was preferred more than solid black. Silver at 15 percent and gray at 12 percent waned in popularity, while red held steady at 8 percent. Blue and brown/beige spaces each held 5 percent of the global market. The remaining color choices revealed low popularity for green, orange, purples and other spaces, although there was a small increase in the yellow/gold area. Overall, neutral colors have been widely popular over the last decade and make up 76 percent of today’s vehicles.

In North America, white, at 26 percent, continued to increase in popularity and remained the most popular color choice for the seventh consecutive year. At 20 percent, black also increased in popularity as consumers gravitated toward black effects in the luxury and luxury SUV segments. As the popularity of silver increased in the early 2000s, other neutrals, black and gray followed as well. This trend brought the neutral color palette to an all-time high. More recently, silver began a slow decline, along with gray. Today, the neutrals are modernized with sparkling effects and complex hues to drive a variety of premium color choices. The two most popular chromatic colors choices in North America are red at nine percent and blue at 7 percent. Looking ahead, we forecast that these stronger hues will grow in popularity across a variety of vehicle segments.

Mexico largely prefers the lighter neutrals with white at 32 percent and silver at 18 percent. Black falls third at 17 percent in Mexico. Other colors fall in line with the overall North American trends.

Axalta’s color trend forecasting research provides a next generation global color palette for automotive designers. Their Say It With Color! Show provides automotive manufacturers around the world with an opportunity to see possible OEM grade colors in both real and virtual environments. The show leverages decades of experience in understanding that color is an expression of consumer personality that translates passions, emotions and personal style into vehicle purchasing decisions.

This year’s show features four overarching automotive trend categories which have been culled from an analysis of the latest trends across the globe. The company reports a growing interest in new soft hues with opaque characteristics, vivid colors with colored sparkle effects, warm and complex hues with an urban appeal and modern interpretations of neutral spaces.

To download the full report, visit www.axaltacs.com and click on the report icon.