Toronto, Ontario — Earlier this week, PPG unveiled its 2019 automotive colour trends, revealing a rise in the popularity of blue vehicles in North America.
Blue was the most popular automotive colour this year—next to neutral shades like black, white, silver and gray—with 10 percent of this year’s automotive builds sporting a version of the shade.
Other countries shared the shade’s popularity: Europe saw the largest number of consumers choosing blue for their vehicles in 2019 at 11 percent—up one percent from last year. The Asia Pacific saw seven percent of consumers adopting blue as their shade of choice, but only two percent of vehicles in South America sport the hue.
According to PPG, the popularity of blue vehicles is expected to rise in the next four years, as the hue offers many nuanced shades that can be transformed with different pigment effects, fine or coarse metallic flakes, luminous micas and sparkling glass flakes.
PPG also said the shade’s popularity could be linked to the desire to escape from technology and reconnect with natural elements, such as the sea and the sky.
Silver also gained some ground, with the shade’s popularity increasing by five percent since last year. Consumers seem to be steering away from white, as the colour’s popularity dropped four percent this year.
“Now more than ever, consumers have a desire to make a statement—whether it be through their colour choices or the brands they buy,” said Jane Harrington, PPG manager of colour styling and automotive OEM coatings. “We see bolder colours making a comeback in many consumer segments. The versatility of automotive blues—from light sky blue to rich indigo—allows consumers to make a statement while also ensuring the colour maintains a certain level of productivity.”
The themes represented in PPG’s colour trends palette—which the company has titled Flow—represents rapid changes taking place in three core areas of human experience: technology, climate and globalization.
