Black is closing in on silver as the world's most popular car colour, according to a study released this week by auto paint firm DuPont.
The Global Automotive Colour Popularity Report, now in its 58th year, analysed information and trends from 11 automotive regions around the world and concluded that black moved one percentage point closer to the most popular colour, silver.
Silver accounts for 26 percent of autos globally, while black accounts for 24 percent and white/white pearl and grey hold joint third place with 16 percent each. Red holds a comparatively small six percent of the market, blue five percent and brown or beige three percent.
Breaking the research down by regional markets, DuPont determined that white is the most popular colour in North America and black is the most popular in Europe, while a third of vehicles in the world's largest auto market, China, are silver. Japan maintained white/white pearl as its top vehicle colour choice, with silver in second place and black just behind.
India was the only geographic region where a non-neutral colour made the three most popular shades, with brown/beige accounting for 11 percent of vehicles, compared to three percent for the global average.
In South America, silver also accounts for a third of the market, ten percentage points ahead of black at 23 percent and way in front of white and grey, which tie for a distant third with just 13 percent of vehicles.