A new ranking reveals the declining popularity of red cars, once a common sight on UK roads. Grey continues its reign as the most popular color for new vehicles, while blue makes a comeback to the top three.
The color of a car is a significant factor for many buyers. While engine size, model reviews, and boot space are all important considerations, a car's color can make or break a sale. A recent ranking of the most and least popular new car colors in 2024 revealed a concerning trend for one particular hue: red. Sales of red cars have been steadily declining since their peak in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1997, one out of every four cars on the road was red.
However, new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) shows that red is almost extinct when it comes to new car colors. Red recorded its lowest market share since the year 2000, with only seven out of every 100 buyers choosing this color compared to six out of 50 in 2014. Although it holds the fifth spot in the rankings, red experienced a -4.1 percent drop, reaching its lowest market share since 2003.Dominating the top spot for the seventh consecutive year is grey, which has been the most popular new car color. Over a quarter (27.8%) of new car registrations were grey, meaning 543,464 grey cars took to UK roads last year. Black secured the second position, while blue reclaimed its spot in the top three for the first time since 2010, taking third place. These three colors combined accounted for 64.5 percent of all new cars on the road. White cars followed closely behind in fourth place. Despite the success of the Barbie movie and the rising popularity of pink hues, pink cars remained one of the least preferred choices, with a 31 percent decline from 2023, registering only 145 new cars in this color. Turquoise experienced the most dramatic downfall, plummeting from 3,627 registrations in 2023 to a mere 362 last year. This marked the steepest recorded decline for this color and its lowest performance since 2002.These findings echo a recent study by the AA, which predicted that red cars could vanish from UK roads within 13 years. James Hosking, director of AA Cars, commented, 'Drivers of a certain age will fondly remember a time when nearly every other car on the road seemed to be red, but those days are long gone. The increasing popularity of monochrome and grey cars has the potential to make our roads far less colorful.' Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, added, 'While manufacturers strive to ensure every driver can have their pick of a vast choice of paint colors and personalization options to suit their individual tastes, it seems UK car buyers’ preferences remain steadfastly monochrome.
CAR COLORS GREY RED TRENDS AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
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