among European car owners do not, on
the face of it, show a marked shift to col-
or because of the continued dominance
of achromatic or ‘uncolorful’ coatings –
white, black, gray and silver
In 2015 the percentage of white ve-
hicles in the European automotive sec-
tors was around 30 percent, with black
at 19 percent, grey 15 percent and silver
13 percent, according to BASF figures.
These had a total share of over three
quarters with the remainder comprising mainly blue, red, brown, beige,
purple, gold, yellow and orange. Of
these, blue accounted for the largest
proportion of 39 percent, followed by
red at 27 percent, brown 17 percent
and beige 7 percent.
This year the ascendancy of the achromatic coatings in the European OEM
market appears not to have altered much.
There are big color differences, nonetheless, between types of vehicles in
Europe. Figures issued in late October
by PPG show over half of newly manufactured minivans and light trucks were
white and luxury vehicles were mostly
grey. Small and compact models were
most likely to have blue and red shades
while SUVs were most likely to have gold,
beige or yellow shades.
However, the vast majority of achromatic OEM coatings have special effects
which add sparkle or other reflections or
refractions combined with colors which
change according to the angle of vision.
Often these effects are an important way
for automobile manufacturers to differentiate their brands. “(We) provide
individual solutions through our colors
and effects,” said Mark Gutjahr, Europe
design head at BASF Coatings.
Most effects come from metallic or
pearlescent materials with the former
reflecting light with a rich glow or luster
while the other through refraction provides a shimmering variett of colors.
However, with white OEM colors
there are signs in Europe of lack of en-
thusiasm among car owners for rich
pearlescent effects. Figures from Axalta,
the former DuPont coatings business
based in Germany, reveal that last year
there was in Europe a 25 percent prefer-
ence for solid white and only 4 percent
for pearl white compared with a world
average of 11 percent.
The company is predicting a decline in
the European popularity of white in automobile, mainly because of the difficulty
and expense of repairing damaged pearl
white coatings. Instead pearl white will
be mainly replaced by ceramic white.
“At a distance, ceramic white looks
more solid but when viewed more closely
a combination of pearlescent and aluminium metallic effects give it in a light
grey appearance,”explained Christina
Luedecke, a technical specialist in OEM
coatings at Axalta.
Overall color coatings are gaining
share in the OEM sector with the preferences for white, black, grey and silver declining from a peak of around 90 percent
five years ago.
PPG reckons that blue’s popularity
has risen by 3 percent in the car market
across the world this year with growth
in Europe and the U.S. In 2017-18
there will continue to be a rise in demand for blue in cars, according to Jane
Harrington, PPG color-styling manager
for OEM coatings.
“Blue is a very versatile color for the
automotive market because subtle shifts
in the hue, chroma and flake appearance
of a blue coating can do a lot to enhance
a vehicle’s style or distinguish a brand,”
she says.
In fact blue has become increasingly
fashionable in other sectors as well in
Europe. Traditionally a favorite color, it
is going through a revival.
For 2017, color and design experts at
AkzoNobel, the European market leader
in decorative paints, have chosen a grey-blue, named Denim Drift, as the Color of
the Year for its Dulux Trade decorative
paint brand. It will be part of a palette
of blues.
“Creating a blue color scheme provides commercial specifiers with flexibility in both a residential and commercial
setting with hues that run the gamut
of being calming and energizing,”said
Louise Tod from the Dulux Global
Aesthetics Centre.
BASF launched this summer a collection of effect colors for the auto market,
where changes in viewing angles revealed
new colors and textures. They included
metallic blues, which the company be-
lieves will help blue gain market share.
Under its Xirallic brand for alumin-
ium-based pigments, Merck Group of
Germany, a global leader in effect pig-
ments, has introduced a bluish white ver-
sion to complement black and silver-gray
appearances and another with a more
intense and brilliant blue. Also it has
launched under its Suprima label blue, red
and gold effect pigments which give exact
color values for coatings applications.
Effect pigments are reinforcing their
capability for extending the versatility of
colors at a time when consumers want to
gain more from them. CW
“The vast majority of achromatic OEM
coatings have special effects which add
sparkle or other reflections or refractions
combined with colors which change
according to the angle of vision. Often
these effects are an important way for auto
manufacturers to differentiate thier brand. ”
