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• Black has been announced as the UK's most popular car colour.
• White still remains the most popular car colour in South Africa.
• Around 6.5-million cars in the UK are black
Ever wondered why Ferrari and the colour red are synonymous? Turns out the world motorsport body, the FIA, informed all Italian manufacturers to paint their racing cars red.
Enzo Ferrari named the colour Rosso Scuderia, and every race car and new car was covered in that hue. It has remained a popular colour for the brand, and data shows that 45% of all Ferraris sold sport the red hue.
Another favourite car colour is the Tornado Red that Volkswagen dons their Golf GTI with. I first saw it used in a magazine advertisement of the MkV version of the GTI and I've loved it ever since.
Even in the latest iterations of the famous hot hatch, Tornado Red is used to promote the GTI. It's a colour that compliments other design elements of the car and contrasts well with the honeycomb grille and black air vents.
What is your favourite car colour, and why? Please email us your thoughts here.
In South Africa, white is the most popular car colour according to data from Lightstone Auto. In June 2020, over 43% of passenger vehicles sold were white.
Silver is the second most popular colour, accounting for less 19.5% with grey the third most popular hue with 12.2%.
Black might be the most popular colour in the UK but in South Africa it languishes way down the list as only 2% of cars were in that colour.
South Africans do like red though, with 8.3% of passenger sales featuring the crimson hue.
Image: Wheels24 / Warren Wilson
Moving onto which car colours are the most popular, data from the United Kingdom points to black being the most common hue. There are around 6.5-million black cars on in the British car parc.
There are close to 40-million licensed vehicles in the UK, and while you might think white is the most popular car colour, it only managed to slot into fifth place.
Silver is another colour that's popular locally, and in the UK it came second to black. In South Africa, there are many more silver cars on the road.
A Mercedes-Benz model in a silver hue is particularly enjoyable. The German brand's Iridium Silver is a popular choice for many local buyers of the luxury car.
In third and fourth spots are blue and grey. Blue-painted cars, especially navy blue (with tan leather seats) are a good choice.
And finally Red is the sixth most popular car colour in the UK, according to the Freedom of information requested by the RAC.
Car colour choices are interesting, as they can tell a lot about one's choices and personality, but also are chosen because certain colours help a car devalue slower than other options. For example, white and silver cars are more likely to sell for a higher price than red or blue cars of a similar model and year.
