Cars getting more colourful

Bright primary colours are coming back to cars.

Greys and mattes will gradually be overtaken by a return to brightness in a stir for the new-car colour chart that is being tracked and led by GM Design in Detroit and Fishermens Bend.

“I won’t give you specific colours but look around and you will notice more solid bright colours -- not quite '70s sport' colours but just as strong and vibrant even in the lux space,” the head of global design at General Motors, Australia’s Mike Simcoe, reveals exclusively to carsales.

“Light blues, yellows, oranges and tinted whites.”

Simcoe says some things will stay the same, with luxury favourites holding their ground, but he sees a change in the trendy colours of recent years.

“Black, mid-grey, white and silver remain staples. The dirty greys, olive drab greens and light browns are a fad and very much a fashion … supposed to be serious sport or mostly urban assault truck.

“They will be around a while longer, as will the matte finishes. But with more legs in the wraps than factory paint.”

Simcoe’s take on colours is reflected by Vesna Fulkoski, the senior manager for colour and trim at GM Design in Fishermens Bend.

“Body paint colours presented on concept show cars provide a clue to the type of colours that will be hot or trending in the near future,” she tells carsales.

“For example, the BMW Vision iNEXT presented a liquid Grey-rose Copper exterior paint colour, which is a silky matte finish, gradually changing shades from warm copper to dark rose. This colour is hot, but unlikely available for purchase this summer.”

According to Fulkoski, the battleship greys being used by some upscale brands including Porsche and BMW are just a twist on the long-term silver choices.

“There is a sense of familiarity since mid-tone greys offer an urban reflection of what’s presented around us, in terms of materials used in architecture and in product design,” she said.

“Not an unusual choice of colour for a vehicle. It emphasises form and is far more interesting than the next neighbouring colour space which is metallic silver.”

Fulkoski, like Simoce, sees a move away from matte paint on bodywork but believes it will live beyond new-car showrooms.

“No, not dead. Matte surface paint is a minority but still relevant. The longevity of this trend might be questioned and I guess this might be the reason people turn to vinyl wrap options to achieve a matte finish, without it being a permanent paint on their vehicle.”

Also like Simcoe, Fulkoski continues to see a place for the hero colours which were used at Holden during the reign of the homegrown Commodore and Monaro -- Tiger, Perfect Blue, Chlorophyl and many more -- to add impact to new models.

“A signature colour is designed to compliment the vehicle’s vision or story. The athletic-sporty nature of most vehicles during Simcoe’s era in Australia called for more expressive paint colours.

“This is still relevant for many sporty vehicles, especially athletic SUVs that you see on the road today,” she says.

Fulkoski also see more change in the future of colours, but still with special hues for specific vehicles.

“The automotive industry is going through total transformation of personal mobility, introducing self-driving, electrified vehicles, ride and car sharing, connectivity. We are now seeing shifts within exterior paint technology, to compliment the automotive evolution.

“As an example, the technology visible within a new white paint technology can talk to the vision of an electric car, associating with an image of purity and intelligence.

“We still call this a ‘Signature' colour, but it presents a very different aesthetic and story to how we have used Signature colour in the past.”