Silver cars continue to rise in popularity in Australia

Silver is once again the most popular car colour in Australia and always increasing in popularity. For many people this is not surprising, given the plethora of silver cars on the road nowadays. Black and white came in equal second, followed by red and blue.

One in four new cars across the world is silver, making it the most popular car colour in the world (25 per cent), followed by black with a market share of 22 per cent and white with 16 per cent. Grey takes the fourth position with a market share of 13 per cent. Despite regional differences, the preferences of car buyers are becoming more and more global, as the colour preferences in various countries are almost identical.

Colour is considered an important element of how car manufacturers can define and differentiate a vehicle or brand in the marketplace. The colours being developed for the automotive market are becoming increasingly influenced by fashion, culture, nature, movies, media, and many other consumer products. In spite of this, while many areas of life are quite colourful, most car buyers are still choosing conservative colours which are more likely to hold their resale value.

The trend towards more environmentally friendly electric hybrid and gas-driven cars and the colours associated with them has created speculation as to whether the most popular car colours will change in the next few years.

Recent statistics show that silver makes up around a third of new vehicles sold in Australia, with white at 20% and black at 10%. It is reported that fashion, resale value and prestige are some of the factors driving the continued increase in silver car sales.

However, the increase in silver car sales has also increased safety concerns, as silver cars are considered to be one of the least safe car colours to drive. Silver gets easily lost in the road environment and is a factor in higher severity crashes, as silver has low contrast with the road environment, even in good conditions. The lack of visibility is worse in fading light or cloudy and wet conditions. Less visibility means less time for other drivers to react to a potential accident situation which leads to more crashes and higher severity crashes for drivers of silver coloured cars.

While the colour of a car does not affect its performance or handling, colour can have a psychological effect on the buyer and may even affect the price of the car, especially in the case of second-hand vehicles.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this is certainly the case when choosing your favourite car colour, but your choice of colour will not affect the amount of car maintenance and repairs your car will require in the future, such as windscreen replacement and car glass repairs. Car colours are always a personal preference, whereas you can’t choose whether you need replacements such as those or not.

Catherine Clay writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.