WHITE has become the fastest growing new car colour, whilst once-popular silver cars are fading out of fashion, thanks to the ‘apple effect’, it is claimed.
Black may be the most chosen colour for cars leaving the showroom, but the colour white, once associated with Essex girls and a favourite in the 1980s is enjoying a rebirth in popularity.
Design experts have attributed the trend to computer giant Apple, whose sleek, white iPods and iPads have made the colour fashionable again.
White paint on cars has surged in popularity by more than 800% in the past six years, a study by Halfords, which sells 48,000 variations of touch up and spray paints, found.
The growing popularity of white cars is being fuelled by new pigment paints and quality finishes which mean white cars retain a forecourt garage look and surprisingly don’t show the dust and scratches as readily as darker colours.
They also have lower fuel bills, as the colour reflects the sun’s heat, lessening the need to switch on the air conditioning and their environmental impact, it is suggested.
Car manufacturers believe white makes models look more streamlined and attractive to buyers. They are increasingly used in advertising campaigns and at this year’s major motor shows in Detroit, Geneva and Barcelona, there were more white cars on display than any other colour cars.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says white has become more socially appealing. Its figures reveal that in 2004 just 21,000 new white cars were bought. By last year this had risen to 188,000, a 795% rise, rivalling red in popularity and accounting for one in ten of all new cars sold.
Additionally, some police forces have switched from white to silver cars after finding in the past that white cars had a poor resale value.
Today, black is the most popular colour car, replacing silver, which was the top colour since 2001, mainly as a result of company drivers wanting sober colours. Experts predict beige renamed cappuccino is also poised to make a comeback.
Top colours of new cars in 2010 according to the SMMT: Black cars sold 465,249, silver cars 402,537, blue cars 310,331, grey cars 270,863, red cars 192,335, white cars 188,463, green cars 20,735, beige cars 17,237, yellow cars 7,621, brown cars 6,967.
