STATEN ISLAND, NY – While some drivers like their car to stand out in the crowd, the majority of Americans prefer to blend in with the millions of other gray-colored cars on the road.
A new study from car analysis company SeeCars.com surveyed more than 6.5 million cars on the road to determine the most and least popular car colors across the country, finding that white, black, gray and silver cars make up 80% of the cars.
White and black were found to be the most popular colors, representing 25.8% and 22.3% of all cars, respectively.
“White’s popularity can be attributed to being one of the easiest colors to maintain, and because it is the color of boats and rental cars, white is widespread in the used car market,” said Karl Brauer, chief analyst at SeeCars. “Black continues to be a popular choice for car buyers, and its popularity is reinforced by many car manufacturers choosing to offer black trims for their cars to increase the price.”
Gray and silver, representing 30.5% of all vehicles combined, were found to be the third and fourth most popular, followed by blue and red, the highest non-grayscale colors on the list.
“The reduction of blue colors is likely to be a popular choice among buyers who want to stand out in a sea of cars in neutral colors without being too bright,” said Brauer, adding, “Red cars are often associated with sports cars, and drivers who are concerned with performance. often choose this type.”
Meanwhile, all other colors, such as brown, green, orange, beige, purple, gold and yellow, combined to account for only 3.3% of cars on the road.
Here’s a look at the most popular car colors in descending order.
In New York, the most popular car color is black, accounting for about 24.8% of all cars, according to the study.
Meanwhile, the most popular non-grayscale color in the Empire State is blue, which represents about 10.9% of all cars, less than the national average.
Choosing the right color for your car may be more important than many drivers think, as the shade chosen can affect how the car’s value decreases in the years to come.
Earlier this year, iSeeCars.com analyzed the sales of more than 6 million vehicles from 2017 to 2020 to determine which car colors decreased in value the most and the least during the first three years.
“Car color is one of the most important considerations after buyers decide on make and model,” said Brauer. “With resale value being a bigger factor than how much a new car ‘costs’ during ownership, buyers should think carefully about their color choice.”
Car buyers may be surprised to learn that some colors that are often seen on the road tend to lose value in the first three years than those that are seen less often.
For example, yellow and orange took first and third place, respectively, in terms of the least wear in the first three years of ownership, due to their limited availability and the fact that these colors are often seen on the most desirable models.
Meanwhile, common colors like black, white and silver all tend to be lower on average, due to the high volume on the market.
The study found that the average new car, regardless of color, tends to depreciate by as much as 37.6% in the first three years.
Here’s a look at the depreciation of different types of cars, from the lowest to the highest depreciation percentage.
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