White has become the most popular vehicular color choice in recent years, representing 27.6% of all models sold. The dominance of white, black, gray, and silver, also known as grayscale colors, now accounts for 80% of all vehicles on the road, compared to 60.3% in 2004. Gray has shown the most significant increase in market share, with an 81.9% boost over the past two decades, while silver has decreased in popularity by 52.2%.
Brighter hues have plummeted in popularity over the last 20 years, with shades of gold, purple, brown, and beige becoming up to 80% less prevalent. Non-grayscale colors have lost ground, leading to a dilution of the car color spectrum. Even in the sports car segment, monochromatic treatments dominate, with gray, white, and black being the most popular choices. Surprisingly, green sports cars have seen the most growth, with a reported 537% gain since 2004.
While vehicles painted in bright colors tend to retain their resale value better than monochromatic treatments, the overall trend in the industry is towards grayscale colors. Yellow models were found to retain the most value after three years, followed by beige, orange, green, and red. However, resale value varies by market segment, with yellow performing well among SUVs, convertibles, and coupes, beige among pickup trucks, brown among sedans, and green among minivans.
The most popular car colors, according to the iSeeCars study of 20 million used cars, are white, black, gray, and silver, with significant increases or decreases in market share over the past two decades. Despite automakers offering a full range of paint treatments, non-grayscale colors continue to lose ground, with colorful cars becoming an endangered species in the automotive industry. The full report from iSeeCars.com provides further insights into car color trends and preferences.
