The Hindu Business Line : Silver brushes aside competition, again

Silver continued to rule over the world of automotive colour for the seventh consecutive year. Maintaining its lead as the predominant colour choice for vehicles globally, silver has actually managed to post a percentage gain in many markets.

Vibrant colours such as red and orange also registered noticeable growth around the world according to DuPont Automotive's 2006 Colour Popularity Report.

According to the report, since overtaking green in 2000, silver has held the top spot — the longest for any colour during the 54 years that DuPont has been tracking automotive vehicle colour choice. There has however been a broadening of the range of tones in silver as also in grey, another top choice.

The trend for the future includes the infusion of these neutral colours with greens, reds and purples, to provide customers a broader palette of choices.

The DuPont Global Colour Popularity Report remains the automotive industry's authoritative standard for analysing and predicting vehicle colour trends as chosen by consumers.

The report includes segmentation by world regions as well as by vehicle type. This year, the report is segmented further to highlight variations within the Asian marketplaces.

Typically the bottom half of the top ten colours point to the growth trend for future colours.

A clear trend for the future includes warmer tones such as red as well as the continued strength of blue. Blue and red have strengthened their positions as popular vehicle colours in North America each with 11 per cent share and in China with 17 per cent share and 9 per cent resepectively. Blue remains a top choice in Europe with a 13 per cent share overall.

According to the DuPont report, the stronger showing of higher `chroma' colours throughout the world points to a desire by consumers for more personalisation of their vehicles. This boldness allows for smaller vehicles to make a strong statement and is most evident in the compact/sport segment, where, globally, red and orange have seen a upswing, notably in the three Asian markets and in North America.

Another popular colour, black remains a top choice across the globe. It features among the top five colours in the regions examined and has gained ground in specific segments in North America. Going forward, the 2006 colour popularity report foresees the growth of black in the North American luxury segment with 22 per cent, mirroring black's longstanding first place among European luxury vehicles with 37 per cent. These gains in North America closely follow the European acceptance and growth of metallic black. Black has also gained ground in the intermediate vehicle segment in North America.

With as many as 40 per cent of consumers willing to switch brands for the sake of a specific colour, according to the results of a national poll commissioned by DuPont, it is becoming increasingly important for auto manufacturers to provide a range of colours and track consumer preferences, now and in the future to remain competitive.

S. Muralidhar

More Stories on : Automobiles | Paints | Marketing Research | Cars

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page