BASF released the color trend of 2022 automobile OEM paint, white and black are still the most popular

BASF Paint Business Department issued the 2022 Auto OEM Paint Color Report. BASF has continued to make statistics on the OEM paint colors used by the automobile main engine plants for many years, and has formed an annual report every year. In the newly released 2022 annual report, BASF found that OEM's color selection had increased momentum in 2022, especially yellow, orange, green and purple, which occupied part of the market share, and the trend of diversified colors was gradually obvious.

Although the color has changed, neutral colors such as white, black, silver and gray are still the mainstream choice of OEM coatings, and also cover most non-commercial vehicles produced in 2022. White still maintains the leading market share and has become the most popular automotive color among automotive OEM coatings. In addition to the classic and eternal beauty, the value maintenance of white cars is also the highest.

In addition to neutral colors, automobile manufacturers will also increase the choice of color coatings, such as blue or red, but their market share has been challenged by yellow, orange, green and purple colors, which shows that automobile manufacturers can more widely accept the diversity of colors than before.

The data cited in the report also shows that with the recovery from the impact of the global COVID-19 and regional supply chain challenges, the production capacity of automobile manufacturers is rapidly recovering to the pre epidemic level.

Each region also has its own characteristics in color preferences.

EMEA: There are more choices than white and black

In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, although the share of white and black has increased, manufacturers choose more colors. The two most popular colors (white and black) rose, and the market share of gray and silver declined. At the same time, the region has become more colorful.

Blue still dominates the colored people in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but both blue and red have lost market share. Orange began to appear in the preferences of car buyers, with yellow, brown and green rising by several percentage points.

"White and black will increase in 2022, but more important is the diversity of color," said Mark Gutjahr, director of automotive color design in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "With the increase of market share of yellow, orange, brown and green, we can see more colors, reflecting the depth and breadth of colors developed in the past year or two."

North America: More diversified color choices

North American car buyers have fewer choices of color cars, but that doesn't mean they have fewer opportunities to choose color cars, trucks or SUVs. In color, blue and red still dominate, but due to the higher frequency of green, yellow, purple and beige, the region is more colorful than before.

Blue still tops the list. As blue continues to dominate, the gap between blue and red is widening. Neutral colors such as black, gray and silver have lost some market share, especially in large vehicles. This has increased the natural colors such as beige, brown and green, and as the tastes of car buyers change, purple has also gained market share.

"If you look at the most popular colors in color, blue and red are the most popular. But as people turn more to nature, natural colors such as green, yellow, purple and beige are emerging," said Liz Hoffman, BASF Automotive Paint Americas Design Director. "Car buyers are also looking for a vehicle color that can express their enthusiasm."

Asia-Pacific region: the increase of gray shadows increases the proportion of non-color

As BASF designers have seen in other parts of the world, white is also the most popular color in the Asia-Pacific region. The real focus in 2022 is the increase of gray color, which indicates a new era in the auto industry and the changing values and habits of auto buyers.

Although the total number is small, brown, green and purple are very popular in color. It will take a long time to challenge white to become the most popular color, but at present, they add great diversity to colors in the Asia-Pacific region. This is especially true in small cars and new energy vehicles, which have a wider range of colors.

The market share of blue, red, gold and brown has declined, while the popularity of gray has increased by about 6 percentage points.

Chiharu Matsuhara, Asia-Pacific design director of BASF Automotive Coatings, said: "Grey is more attractive and popular than ever before. Users will never give up the pursuit of non-color uniqueness and individuality. Some gray tones with blue or purple background colors are entering the market, with solid effects, and added color pearl effects, showing the great diversity of color space."

South America: white, silver and beige dominate the market

Historically, South American car buyers have chosen more traditional and less flashy colors. Like other regions, white is the most popular color, while gray has surpassed black in the market share of matte color.

For color, red and blue are stable, while brown has gained some market share. These colors are probably chosen for small vehicles. Large cars and SUVs have the highest extinction ratio, including new effects and various effects of gray on large cars.

"South America is still a conservative region. Buying cars in South America means you may have different colors, but in each color space, there are some really exciting different effects," said Marcos Fernandes, regional business management director of BASF Automotive Coatings in South America.