50 shades of great – looking at the UK’s new favourite car colour
25th Mar, 2019
It’s no secret that the UK car market is experiencing a fair amount of ups and downs recently, and we all know at least one reason why. But amongst all that economic turmoil, in 2018 something else interesting emerged – grey has officially become the UK’s new favourite car colour, overtaking black to the top spot. But, we hear you cry (we’ve got great hearing), isn’t grey all drab and boring? So how has this famously reserved colour become so popular?
Why do we love grey all of a sudden?
Half a million people chose grey for their car colour throughout 2018. That puts it at 21% of the market share at the last count, which is the first time it’s reached the number one spot ever since we first started keeping track of all this back in 1996. Of course, they say that your car colour says something about you, so we checked what the experts have to say. According to one such expert, grey tends to represent austerity, hibernation and bad weather. She goes on to observe that if you’re driving a grey car, you’re probably saving money. To be honest, that assessment makes a lot of sense in the current climate!
What about the other neutral colours?
Though black is no longer in the top spot, it’s still fiercely popular, with 20% of the market share. It’s commonly associated with smoothness, luxury and power, so it’s hardly a surprise that it’s still such a common car colour for many of us here in the UK. Meanwhile, white (currently at 18% of the market share) has always been a popular option for cars in the UK because it’s deemed to be a safe, neutral option. And you can’t argue with that – it’s very difficult to offend someone with a white car. Silver, meanwhile, appears to have fallen out of favour with Britons, with its lowest popularity rating since the late 1990s.
We’re falling out of love with primary colours
Red, blue and yellow haven’t been in the top 3 list for almost the last decade, showing that we’re more in favour of the reserved neutral colours here in the UK. (Fitting the national stereotypes then!) Various different primary colours are said to have different personalities: red signals passion and aggression, blue is calming and provides logic and clarity, while yellow apparently means you’re one of life’s great optimists! (As a bonus, some car dealers think that these colours are the safest, as you’re more easily visible to other drivers.)
Cream and yellow cars went especially downhill in 2018, both falling in popularity by 34%. Interestingly, orange and beige enjoyed a slight upswing in popularity though, by 37% and 28% respectively. Right now, they’re the 7th and 10th most popular car colours in the UK.
Of course, here at Scrap Car Network, you can count on us to scrap your car no matter what colour it is. What’s more, it’s never been easier for you to do it! All we need is your car reg and postcode to provide you with your no-obligation, instant online quote.
