Black Threatens Silver as World’s Most Popular Car Color

The colors you choose for everything from your socks to your screensaver says something about yourself. This is especially true when it comes to cars. Be it sinister black, bright orange or pearl white, there is no better way to stand out in a parking lot. DuPont has rolled out its annual Automotive Color Popularity Report which shows what colors are in high demand.

It looks like the king of corporate bland is under attack from an underdog. According to DuPont, Silver and Black are in tight competition for the title of "world's most popular car color". Only two percentage points are now separating black from taking silver’s crown as the leading vehicle color globally. Silver held the most popular color title for seven years until 2007, when it was dethroned by white and white metallic. In 2009, it managed to take it’s place back, a position that is now under threat again.

According to DuPont, a total of 26 percent of the cars sold around the world were silver, but 24 percent came in black (solid or metallic effect). White and gray are tied for third place, with gray's popularity increasing three percentage points from last year's survey. The company says that black's popularity is largely thanks to the color's success in markets outside of the US. In fact, in North America, white retained its popularity with a three percent lead over black and a four-percent jump over silver.

The top 10 global vehicle colors are as follows:

1. Silver – 26 percent
2. Black/Black Effect – 24 percent
3. White/White Pearl and Gray – 16 percent each (tie)
5. Red – 6 percent
6. Blue – 5 percent
7. Brown/Beige – 3 percent
8. Green – 2 percent
9. Yellow/Gold – 1 percent
10. Others – <1 percent