Axalta, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, released its 69th annual Global Automotive Color Popularity Report revealing most cars on today’s roads are white (35%), black (19%) and gray (19%). Gray increased by four percentage points worldwide. The results of Axalta’s Global Automotive Color Popularity Report are tabulated on Axalta’s analysis of 2021 automotive build data in major markets and are an indicator of current market trends.

White vehicles have been found in the most abundance on the roads since 2011 worldwide, with Asia leading in white vehicle builds, says Axalta. Overall, the popularity of white hit a long-term high of 39% in 2017 and has seen declines in several regions each year since. This year, white declined three percentage points, largely due to a decrease seen in all regions, especially China, with a 7% decrease, Axalta said.

For the third year in a row, Europe is the only major region to report gray as the most popular color at 27%. Silver is most popular in South America as it ranks second place with 23% usage. Black is most found in Europe at 22% and continues to lead in the luxury segment. North America has the most amount of new red cars on the road at 8%, according to Axalta.

This year proved to be challenging in the automotive market due to the impact of the semiconductor chip shortages affecting automotive builds. “Consumer demand is expected to showcase trends in upcoming automotive color popularity,” said Nancy Lockhart, global product manager of color at Axalta.

Axalta began reporting on the industry’s coatings color in 1953 and continues to report on color trends and color preferences. In addition, color forecasts are reported in Axalta’s global annual color trend forecast. 

For more information, visit the company’s annual Global Automotive Color Popularity Report, Color Trend Report and Consumer Preferences Survey. Prior years’ reports can be found here.