at newsroom.ppg.com/autocolor15.)
According to PPG’s global build data,
white was the most popular color (up 7
percent from last year to 35 percent), fol-
lowed by black ( 17 percent) and silver
( 12 percent). Regional trend highlights
from the 2015 data include:
• In North America, white remains
most popular ( 23 percent), followed
by black ( 19 percent), gray ( 17 per-
cent), silver ( 15 percent), red ( 10
percent) and blue ( 8 percent).
• In South America, white leads in
popularity ( 36 percent), followed
by silver ( 31 percent), black ( 11 percent), gray and red (tied at 9 percent
each), and blue (2.5 percent).
• In Europe, white remains most popular ( 31 percent), followed by black
( 18 percent), gray ( 16 percent), silver
( 12 percent) and blue ( 9 percent).
• In Asia Pacific markets, white re-
mains most popular ( 44 percent),
followed by black ( 16 percent),
natural and silver (tied at 10 percent
each), and gray ( 7 percent).
In research that PPG conducted
among consumers in the U.S. and Europe,
three in five respondents (59 percent) said
color was a major factor in their vehicle-buying decisions. In fact, more than half
of respondents said that if the color they
wanted was not available on the lot, they
would wait for it to become available before finalizing their purchase instead of
purchasing a vehicle in a second-choice
color. PPG’s research also indicated that:
• Metallic colors are more popular
among men, while women show a preference for solid, single-color non-metallic-looking gloss finishes and pearlescent/
colored sparkle effects.
• Automotive color and appearance
are especially important among style-con-scious male consumers ages 18-39, with
respondents saying that they want a vehicle to exude an image of success and in
many cases would be willing to pay more
to own a vehicle that adequately reflects
their personality.
“Our research indicates that
global car manufacturers have
good reason to give their brands
and models a unique appearance using color and effects,” said Jane E.
Harrington, PPG manager, color styling,
automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) coatings. “Color and styling
choices by OEMs must be responsive to
these differences among potential buyers. They need to consider everyone from
technology-focused millennials to family-focused baby boomers, monitoring sales
data and style trends to try to predict two
or three years in advance of a model year
what colors and effects they will offer.
“With a full spectrum of colors that
can range in appearance from bright
sparkle to silky pearlescence, carmakers
today have an endless variety of options.
Because we know selecting the right look
for a specific brand is very important to
each automotive company, PPG helps our
customers develop distinctive colors to
enhance their future vehicles,” she added.
