Living Life in the grey lane: An investigation into car colour

There is an entire spectrum of car colours owners can choose from, each colour demonstrates an individual’s unique personality and individuality, why is it then that the vast majority of owners decide to go for grey, black or white. Looking out the window on a particularly dreary day in January and you could be forgiven for thinking the world had lost all its colour.

According to figures from the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) 509,194 grey cars were registered in 2023 alone, which equated to over a quarter of cars sold in 2023. Second and third you may ask, Black and white, combined the greyscale trio made up 63.5% of all cars registered in 2023. This is despite the multitude of colours produced by manufacturers every year. Indeed, when researching our own data, we found that over the last three years grey, black and white cars made up 48% of our total repairs, which leads to the question, when did drivers get so boring?

Manufacturers are starting to agree

It appears the industry has realised our boring taste in cars with some even trying to liven drivers up a bit. Fiat announced in 2023 that they would no longer be selling grey cars, aiming to reinvigorate the brand claiming, “it is aimed at further reinforcing Fiat’s leadership as the brand of joy, colours and optimism.”

It has often been thought that black, white and grey cars have higher resale values, following research into the top 10 best selling cars of 2023 that information would appear to be correct, with 6 of the 10 cars all selling for significantly higher prices than their more colourful compatriots. While this does mean greyscale cars more popular with resellers, what about owners?

Well, it is common knowledge that cars in darker paint colours are significantly warmer in the summer months due to the higher heat absorbing tendencies, this means black, blue and certain darker grey cars will bring a sweat on during the warmer months, darker colours also require more maintenance with black blue and grey all showing dirt and grime more clearly than their paler cousins. The general rule on car cleaning is: The deeper the colour, the more scratches and dirt you’ll notice and the longer you’ll have to spend cleaning and polishing body panels.

Car colour reflects your personality

Car colour choice is often based around the owner’s personality, according to US outlet JD Power “Colour preferences often reflect a person’s personality. Individuals who wish to stand out tend to prefer bright, bold colours that attract attention, such as yellow, red, or green. Colours such as white, silver, grey, and black may appeal to those seeking simplicity.”

It is possible that drivers in the UK are much more conformist than we like to believe, all our neighbours choose to own greyscale cars, who are we to spoil the trend. Particularly when one poor pensioner had his car vandalised purely because his banana yellow Vauxhall Corsa didn’t fit in to its picturesque 14^th  century village surroundings. Police valued the damage at over £6,000 due to the damage on every panel of the vehicle

If your car has become victim of a horrible vandal attack, do not fret, get in touch with our team now to request a quote for a repair, no matter the colour.

For more information about our services or to get your car revived get in touch with our team please visit: revive-uk.com/contact

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