BASF release colour predictions of cars that'll be on roads in next five years

Every year the designers of BASF’s Coatings division study future trends which they use as the foundation for the development of new surfaces, textures and colours for their collection. Inspiration is said to be drawn from places including industry, fashion, consumer products and nature.

his research is then shared with their customers who include automotive designers at the world’s biggest carmakers that then go on to incorporate these colours into future models that will be on the road in the next three to five years.

BASF’s global coatings team have released their 2020-2021 CODE-X collection of colours which includes everything from new, reimagined whites, the darkest of jet blacks and a variety of vibrant new colours.

The collection’s key colours vary from a greyish green to a warm beige, to a coarse grey with the company saying that these represent the blend of the physical and digital worlds in our lives and how they help us stay hopeful and positive while coping with change. How poignant and relevant.

Currently, the most popular car colours in Australia is white followed by silver and grey. It will be interesting to see whether future Aussie car buyers will become more expressive and adventurous and select one of these colours.

BASF has broken their colour predictions into three global regions, Asia Pacific (including Australia), Europe, Middle East, Africa and North America. These three regions are known to have distinct colour preferences.

Asia Pacific’s key colours according to BASF reflect a positive, flexible attitude for change, action and the future. They are warm and emotional colours with a steady mood. They are not black or white, but more blurred which mirrors human emotion.

“This nuanced greyish green is the translation of the floating free mind and anonymous style of a whimsical younger generation. In-between green and blue, Social Camouflage stakes out a colour position that’s natural, but not pure. Not really light or dark, it is a coloured neutral with floating effects that can be smoky, depending on the angle. The cool colour represents flexible values and behaviours that will change the world in a positive manner.”

“Dream Fighter is not a high chroma orange, but a subdued and comfortable intermediate orange with hints of pink and copper. The colour is a homage to the golden age that speaks positively to each generation in its own way.”

“Reflected by a realistic and unique values, Unknown Metal is a coloured neutral with a balanced shade, tone and effect. Its features bring out an inner beauty, and deep emotion. The definition of “neutral” is expanded. It is not just grey, but a grey-influenced purplish colour position with a sharp metal effect that’s basic, yet fascinating.”

Chiharu Matsuhara, BASF’s Head of Design, Asia Pacific says that when it comes to the region’s future colour trend, it’s all about standing out and making a change. “Individuality is the trend in play here. We live for today and want to make the future better. We try to enjoy life and be positive as much as possible and change what we did in the past.”

The key colours of EMEA according to BASF are soothing, calming and familiar with a bold, new and distinct take.

“How do you remake a colour in the beige space? You create a surprising and bold re-imagination of colour. Pundits Solution is fully neutral in the beige area – but a much warmer colour position that’s uniquely different, and distinctively younger. It features a strong gold sparkle effect that makes it warmer, extraordinary, and strange. It’s like nothing we’ve seen before.”

“This grey works really well with technology, programming, digital, or emotional ideation. Coarse and metallic, it achieves an aggressive technical look that appears to give it a rough surface that’s milled out of a solid piece. It also plays with a sparkle to attract yet distract.”

“When you touch something, you’re distracted. You activate haptics and the tactile senses and start to think and react differently. Intron Green is a solid colour with a structured effect surface that is very haptical, drawing together its identity. It’s not mint. It’s a new explosion of texture that speaks to how we want to live.”

BASF says that North America’s future colour direction looks to build off advancing technologies that exhibit a greater sensitivity to the environment.

“This colour space pushes the boundaries and challenges the norms of grey. Dark Seltzer is coarser, with an interplay of colour complements. Technology and design merge with a playful tug-of-war between texture and hue. The result is bolder with a more interactive approach. The colour signals the new normal: nothing is mundane; everything has an important story.”

“People continue to look for spaces and object that evoke strength and presence of mind. Redolent Red captures the visual essence of a soft effect and subtly muted reddish-brown colour, pigmented by the forward-thinking functionality that new transportation demands.”

“Expectations for technology to deliver innovative, yet responsible products have pushed science toward finding simple and elegant solutions. The solid blue colour reflects a straightforward primary colour space unencumbered by any associative texture.”

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