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White UK car buyersrsquo preferred color four years running
<p><strong>White U.K. car buyers&rsquo; preferred color four years running.</strong></p>

U.K. Car-Paint Preferences Primarily Colorless

Of the 2.7 million new cars registered in 2016 in the U.K., 552,329 were white and 542,862 were black, accounting for more than 40% of the market. White was No.1 in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but in England it was eclipsed by black.

LONDON – Choosing a color for their new car has been a black-and-white issue for many U.K. residents.

White was the top-selling color from 2013-2016 in the region after black was No.1 from 2009-2012, according to a study published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

More than a half-million U.K. new-car buyers chose white last year – one of every five registrations – although its popularity fell 2.1% from 2015.

Of the 2.7 million new cars registered in 2016, some 552,329 were white and 542,862 were black, accounting for more than 40% of the regional market. White maintained its lead in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but in England it was overtaken by black as the new car finish of choice.

Ford buyers, however, bucked the trend by opting for the brand’s trademark blue coachwork, keeping the U.K.’s top-selling Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus in the third spot.

Nationally, the third and fourth most-popular colors were gray and blue, both gaining market share. Yellow cars appeared in the top 10 for the first time since 2013 at the expense of mauve, which dropped to 11th place.

Car colors’ biggest winners and losers in 2016:

Shining:

  • Pink still may be a niche color choice but last year demand grew 82.7% to 3,527 units.
  • A 44% rise in demand for bronze cars saw a record 8,902 people choose the color,
  • Turquoise’s popularity grew nearly fourfold, from just 792 registrations in 2015 to 2,718.

Fading:

  • Silver, once the overwhelming favorite among businesses, saw the biggest volume decline, with 273,220 buyers choosing it compared with 843,870 in its heyday in 2004.
  • Demand for brown fell 40.1%, dropping it one place to ninth.
  • Appetite for beige fell 27.6% to under 10,000 for the first time since 2000 with 8,426 cars registered.
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