Is the colour of your car on trend?

They say you can tell a lot about a person from the colour of their car.

We don’t know who they are or what they can tell about people, but… that’s apparently what they say.

What we do know is which colours UK drivers preferred in 2016, as the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) has released data showing the most and least popular colours for new cars in the UK.

For the fourth year running, white remains UK drivers’ favourite new car colour. Meanwhile black is making a comeback. Together these two colours took more than 40% market share.

White falling, black rising
More than half a million new car buyers chose white or black cars last year. But while the popularity of black is growing, white seems to be fading.

For the first time since 2005 the demand for white cars fell in 2016. Registrations, numbering 552,329, represent a 2.1% drop in demand.

In contrast, black is on the up, with 542,862 black cars registered in the UK in 2016 – the highest number since 2007.

Going up the colour chart
Although still niche, some more unusual tones are becoming more popular. But you probably knew this, as these colours are pretty hard to miss:

• Pink – demand grew 82.7% to 3,527 units in 2016
• Bronze – a record 8,902 people chose this – a 44% rise in demand
• Turquoise – its popularity grew fourfold last year, from just 792 registrations in 2015 to 2,718

Going down the colour chart
But for some colours, the only way is down:

• Brown – demand fell by 40.1%, making it the ninth most popular choice in the UK
• Beige – fewer than 10,000 new car buyers chose beige for the first time since 2000. The 8,426 cars registered represent a drop of -27.6%
• Silver – the formerly much-loved metallic saw the biggest volume decline. Only 273,220 buyers chose it compared with the 843,870 in 2004 when its popularity peaked

The top 10 colours
In 2016 grey and blue both gained market share. And yellow cars appeared in the top 10 for the first time since 2013, while poor old mauve dropped out. Here’s the run down:
1. White
2. Black
3. Grey
4. Blue
5. Red
6. Silver
7. Green
8. Orange
9. Brown
10. Yellow

Whatever you have planned tonight, please take some time to spare a thought for mauve.

We’re here for you mauve. We’re all here for you.

Whatever colour your car – whether it’s on trend, or out of fashion, you’ll still need car insurance.