PPG announces annual auto colour trends

PPG Industries, the world’s leading manufacturer of transportation coatings, has released its annual automotive colour popularity and trend data. While white retained the leading spot as the most popular car colour based on 2012 automotive build data, PPG forecasts that the overall use of colour is on the rise.
According to PPG’s annual survey, white ranked first (22%) and silver was second (20%), followed by black (19%), grey (12%), red (9%), natural (8%), blue (7%), green (2%) and other colours (1%).
In the Asia Pacific region, silver and white tied for most popular (23%), followed by black (19%), natural (10%), red (9%), grey (8%), blue (7%) and green (1%).
"Colour is one of the first characteristics noticed in product design and it is increasingly being used in everyday items, from cell phones to large appliances, based largely on automotive trends,” said Jane E Harrington, PPG manager, colour styling, automotive OEM (original equipment manufacturer) coatings. "The palette being developed for the automotive segment continues to be influenced by culture, nature, fashion, interior design, colour popularity and new pigment technology.”
During PPG’s annual Automotive Color Trend Show in September, the company presented 64 new exterior shades to automotive designers for consideration in designs of the 2015-2016 model years. These included colours such as: Al Fresco, a silver metallic with fresh green tint; Victoria Grey, a classic grey with an iridescent highlight of gold metal; Opulence, a refined red pearl with intense jewel tone; Glacier, an icy graphite grey with a slight violet blue tone; Sunshine, a bright high-sparkle intense yellow; and Elixir, a metallic mixture of silver and magenta.