The 2021 car colour trends you need to know about
Colour can be the biggest deciding factor in a car purchase and resale, so you better get it right.Are you a fashionista that loves keeping up with the latest trends and styles? Well, you probably know these three hot trends in car colours already.
Colour is a magic visual ingredient that has the power to change the way you feel, can convey an emotion, can show someone your personality before you even say a word and can be the difference between selling a car fast or slowly.
"Colour is often the second question asked when you tell someone you've bought a car. The first question is: what model? The second is: what colour?"
François Farion, Renault’s Director of Colour and Trim Design
Car colour choice can be made based on cultural beliefs with the deciding factor being that it is an auspicious sign and is believed to bring fortune, wealth and prosperity into a person’s life. According to an article from Easy Compare Thailand the top four colours seen to bring good luck are black, red, silver and bronze. The choice of picking a car colour is also strongly linked to the day of the week that a person was born.
For years, the go-to car colours worldwide have been white, black and silver, making up nearly 70% of all cars sold worldwide, according to Axalta, a leading automotive paint supplier. The most popular colour is white, which is used on 38% of new vehicles sold. If you're keen to stand out from the crowd, if only just a little bit, why not consider these three hot car colour trends before you drive away in your new car.
The 50 shades of grey paint
When we say grey, we don’t mean charcoal or silver. The grey that is hot with car brands and the style-conscious in 2021 is smack bang in-between, sometimes even with a hint of blue thrown in for good measure.
Pantone announced Ultimate Gray as one of its 2021 colours of the year saying "Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. The colours of pebbles on the beach and natural elements whose weathered appearance highlights an ability to stand the test of time, Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience."
When it comes to the colour's popularity, according to carsales data, Grey is the third most popular colour listed on the site for used vehicles while it is the second most popular colour for new and demo cars in 2021.
carsales Senior Graphic Designer Andrew Panozzo says that grey is traditionally an accent colour that helps others stand out in the design world but that is slowly changing.
"There’s an intriguing deep psychological reason of the popularity of grey cars right now. A reflection of polarised times or dystopian fear of an austere future but alas no, the reasons are equally as dull as a cup of Earl Grey tea.
"White is generally the cheapest colour but it’s seen as an even duller option to grey so people don’t want to go there and besides, what would the neighbours think? So, go bold instead you say? That can be dangerous too, just ask my dad. Sure the metallic brown duco of his 1979 Toyota Cressida matched the elbow patches of his snazzy corduroy jacket, but that was a hard car to sell by the time 1989 rolled around. So the answer is grey, safe in the knowledge you'll be able to easily sell your grey car in four years time."
Here are a few cars which you can find in 2021's hottest shade of grey:
Volvo XC40
Mazda CX-30
BMW 3 Series
Full colour interior trim
For the last few decades, black or white has been the two go-to colours when it comes to the interior trims of cars sold in Australia. A far cry from the top to bottom colour coverage of the cars of the 70s and 80s. During the 90s Aussies got a bit boring reverting back to dark greys and blacks but colour is back bigger and brighter than ever.
In recent years, high-end luxury brands such as Rolls-Royce, BMW and Bentley have offered all over colour interiors as part of their options, but it has now hit the mainstream with Mazda, Honda and Hyundai offering reds, purples and greens to the mix. Will you look back in a few years time and question whether a bright red interior was a good idea? Totally. But does it look super unique and sporty today, absolutely.
Here are a few cars which you can find in 2021's hottest coloured interior:
Deep reds are back
Forget your basic flat red coloured cars. In 2021, it is all about those fully bodied Shiraz and crimson reds. For years, red has been synonymous with Ferrari and fast cars, and we can understand why. Red is an emotive colour; passion, love, fire, all things it seems we have all lost along the way. But in 2021, it's back and is here to bring back a little spice to your life.
The key with these types of reds is that depending on which light you're looking at the car in, you'll get a slightly different shade or depth which is very reminiscent of a fine wine (or a cheap wine) as it swirls around the glass.
Red makes up around 5% of all cars sold so you are also buying into an exclusive club.
Related: BASF release colour predictions of cars that'll be on roads in next five years
Related: Why the 2020 Pantone colour of the year is likely to be the colour of your next car
Related: Automotive style fads that are well and truly consigned to history
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