What colour says about your car
Colour can be metaphor for moods, emotions, and behaviours. Certain colours can be calming while others can evoke anger.
But did you know that the colour of your car could put you at greater risk of being in a crash or a prime target for car thieves?
With that in mind, here are a few things you might want to consider when choosing the colour of your next drive.
Cool kids
Racing stripes, roaring flames and fantasy worlds are just some of the custom paint jobs on the road. There’s a guy in my hometown with an airbrushed Johnny Depp van paying homage to his most famous Hollywood roles like Edward Scissorhands.
However, these are rare and according to data from the annual BASF Colour Report for Automotive OEM Coatings, most drivers prefer more conservative colour schemes.
Achromatic colours such as white, black, grey and silver are the most popular car colours around the world. Perennial favourite white once again topped this colour survey in 2021.
Some chromatic colours – shades that aren’t white, black and grey – spiked in popularity in 2021. Blue was the most popular chromatic colour, with red coming in second.
Closer to home, the Asia-Pacific has more car colour diversity than anywhere else in the world. However, white (45%) is still by far the most popular car colour in the region, followed by black (18%).
Car theft
Bright colours pop and their bold, brilliant hues attract attention, potentially scaring off thieves.
According to a 2015-16 study by the National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council’s CARS project white cars are the most stolen vehicles in Australia.
This isn’t surprising as white is the most popular vehicle colour in the world. Silver cars ranked second in the survey, followed by blue, black and red.
However, if we crunch the numbers further, green cars are the number one target of car thieves. For every 1000 green cars on the road, 3.58 are stolen.
On the flip side, relatively few purple cars were stolen while pink and orange didn’t even make it on the list. With these stats in mind, it seems buying a brightly coloured car is one way of deterring car thieves.
Crash risk
Does the colour of your car increase the chance of being in a crash?
Well, yes, according to a 2007 Monash University Accident Research Centre report, which found a significant statistical relationship between vehicle colour and crash risk.
Colours ranking lower on the visibility index were more likely to be involved in a crash. These included black, blue, grey, green and silver.
Surprisingly, red cars ranked highly among vehicles more likely to be involved in a crash. Conversely, white vehicles were less likely to be involved in a crash.
The report also found vehicles that had lower visibility colours were at greater risk of being involved in more serious crashes.
Colour of the year
Each year, Axalta, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coating, declares a Global Automotive Colour of the Year.
Sea glass, gallant grey, brilliant blue, electrolight and radiant red are just some of the exotic-sounding hues named most popular colour in recent years.
In 2022, royal magenta took the top gong. This deep-red cherry colour with merlot and garnet hues oozes luxury.
Depending on light conditions, the royal magenta will change colour. During the day it shines berry red, but when the sun goes down, its dark tones convey a sense of mystery.
According to Axalta, the opulent choice of royal magenta reflects a growing trend of burgundy, violet and cherry-like hues becoming more popular in the market.
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