New cars have generally not been brightly colored for years. White was even the most popular ‘color’ for new cars worldwide in 2020, but bright shades seem ready for a rise.
On a gray day like today we could use a little more color. However, you do not have to look at the traffic, because in the Netherlands it is no longer as colorful as it was in the 1970s, for example. Nowadays we prefer to choose gray, white or black. Okay, blue is also relatively popular in Europe, but then it ends. It is no longer such a colorful palette as you see in old photos of parking lots. As mentioned, even white is the most popular color for new cars worldwide and, strictly speaking, that is not even a color.
For almost a year we have been in a crisis and we live in our screens more than ever. Jung Lim Park, Senior Color Designer at Volkswagen, expects that this will have an effect on the choice of car colors in the near future. “Color is always changing and our perception of it evolves according to what we see and what we live with. We are all so touched by our ‘digital life’ in this pandemic, you see more colors on your screen than you really do on physical objects. ” Park’s theory: on our screens we see more color than in the real world and, according to him, a significant proportion of car buyers want that in real life. We become more aware of the grayness around us as we go back to the real world from our screen. Park therefore expects bright and eye-catching colors for cars to become more popular. “The future will be colorful, certainly.”
The ‘aging’ of the vehicle fleet, as it has been going on for years, is a worldwide phenomenon, according to Park. Yet there are subtle differences between regions. “I have found that Asia, Europe and North America have their own color preferences. Asia, for example, is the least colorful. In Europe, gray is always more popular than silver, unlike North America. Color wishes reflect the unique social and cultural trends . ” According to him, the global trend is therefore inclined to return to striking colors, although according to Park the monochrome colors will also continue to play an important role in the near future.