BASF analyzes the 2018 automotive color distribution
- White is still the number one global color
- Blue is the most popular chromatic color worldwide
- Effect coatings create more diverse choices and increase popularity of achromatic colors
SOUTHFIELD, MI, January 9, 2019 – BASF released its annual global analysis of color distribution in the automotive market for 2018.
Developed by the company’s Coatings division, the report entitled “BASF Color Report for Automotive OEM Coatings,” finds that achromatic colors – white, black, gray and silver – still dominate the roads. They cover almost 80 percent of cars produced worldwide. White is the most popular color among them. More than one-fourth of North American cars and nearly one third of European vehicles are painted white. More than half of the vehicles in Asia Pacific are white. Silver’s popularity decreased slightly in comparison to the previous year.
Among the diverse range of color shades, blue is the most popular, followed by red. These chromatic colors tend to be more popular within the smaller vehicle segments, such as compact and subcompact cars. The overall amount of chromatic hues decreases significantly in the larger automobile segments. Here, there was a considerable increase in black and white compared to the previous year.
Diversity in today’s achromatic colors in North America offers a look into the future
In 2018, the achromatics remained the most popular automotive colors for North America, accounting for roughly 75 percent of market production. Among the achromatic colors, white maintains the leading position. Besides the achromatic shades, consumers continued to demonstrate a growing affinity for red, specifically within the pickup and sports car segments. The diverse blue color space remained nearly the same compared to the prior year.
Over the last 10 years, crossover utility vehicles (CUV) have emerged as a dominant vehicle segment in North America. CUVs combine the qualities of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), such as safety and driving convenience, with benefits such as fuel efficiency to offer appealing features to a wide array of drivers. White is the most popular color in this segment, followed by black and gray. Blues and reds are almost equally desired by car buyers.
“In coating large surfaces for the CUV segment, the industry looks to bring a suitable visual expression of the vehicle’s perceived use and link it to the brand image,” said Paul Czornij, head of Automotive Color Design for BASF North America.
Trend competence and innovative color concepts
BASF’s Coatings division continuously monitors trends in materials and colors and uses this data to predict which colors will play a key role in the future automotive market. Each year, the Coatings division’s designers create Automotive Color Trends, an innovative collection of 65 new colors based on extensive research and in-depth analysis of global trends and cultural shifts that will influence automotive colors three to five years into the future.
Color and Sustainability
Integrated into its color design innovations, BASF offers a range of sustainable coatings solutions for the automotive industry. Among these are coatings that enable a shortened application and curing process, which can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 20 percent, waterborne basecoats that meet strict global regulations to minimize the volatile organic compound (VOC) content, and coatings with a temperature management functionality whereby the car surface does not heat up as much as conventional coatings, minimizing the heat build-up in interiors.
About BASF’s Coatings division
The Coatings division of BASF is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings, decorative paints as well as applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries. The portfolio is completed by the “Innovation Beyond Paint” program which aims at developing new markets and businesses. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. BASF shares skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific. In 2017, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about €3.97 billion.
Solutions beyond your imagination – Coatings by BASF. For more information about the Coatings division of BASF and its products, visit http://www.basf.com.
About BASF
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 18,200 employees in North America and had sales of $17.9 billion in 2017. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com.
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The more than 115,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of more than €60 billion in 2017. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (BAS). Further information at www.basf.com.
