What is the UK’s most popular new car colour?

There’s a lot to consider when buying a new car. From the number of seats to its fuel efficiency, reliability, and safety. Then, of course, there’s picking your new vehicle’s colour.

Although the colour of a car doesn’t affect its performance, it can still have a big impact on its desirability. In some cases, the colour of your chosen car may even increase its price!

To see how popular your pick is, and whether or not it may affect the price of your next purchase, we’ve revealed the UK’s most popular car colours.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that UK drivers simply cannot get enough of grey cars. For the fifth year in a row, grey has been the most popular colour, accounting for over one quarter (25.7%) of new cars sold in 2022 and totalling 408,155 units.

The monochromatic theme continues as the second and third biggest-selling colours are black and white respectively. Black cars make up 20.1% of the market, while 16.7% of new cars are adorned in white. Grey-coloured cars now make up a whopping 68.6% of the UK’s new car fleet; black, grey or white have been the most popular colours for the 12th year running.

Blue cars now make up 16% of new passenger vehicles sold in the UK as a whole, making it the fourth-most popular colour. Although, the proportion of blue vehicles registered is down slightly by 1% compared with 2021. Furthermore, green cars saw a huge jump in 2022.

Surprisingly, the appeal of red cars may be beginning to die out as sales have slipped by 0.3% year-on-year, following a larger 1.4% drop in 2021. However, according to the SMMT, red is still the UK's fifth most popular choice, with the most popular model in this colour being the UK’s best-selling car in 2022, the Nissan Qashqai.

What does this mean for car buyers?

Would you choose a brightly coloured car? If you answered yes, you’re in the minority as monochrome shades have been the favourites of British motorists since the year 2000. But why is this? Well, one of the most common reasons is that a more subtly-coloured car will, theoretically, be easier to sell at the end of ownership. There is some evidence that greyscale cars tend to lose less in depreciation, and this is likely to remain the case while they remain in fashion.

Another thing is availability, most cars are offered with a very small selection of paint colours, with white or black typically being the only shades offered at no additional cost. This isn’t always the case, though; the standard colour for the new Peugeot 308 is an eye-catching Olivine Green.

Of course, there are other reasons why people may want to choose an understated paint job for their car; many business users see their cars as part of their work attire and therefore want a colour that looks smart rather than exciting. Dirt is also less visible in darker colours, meaning that you won’t have to be cleaning your car so often.

So, what colour car would you choose? Visit our website to browse our selection of cars ranging from Peugeot, Kia, Fiat, Abarth, Nissan, Renault, and Dacia.