New data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), has revealed that grey is officially the nation’s favourite new car colour for the fifth year in a row.
The recently released figures showed that more than a quarter (25.7%) of UK motorists chose the colour in 2022 for their new car, with 415,199 grey cars registered last year – an increase of 0.7% on the previous year.
Grey was also the top-selling colour in every region and county in the UK, except for the Scottish Borders where blue took the top spot, with grey in second place.
The data revealed that 62.5% of new cars in Britain in 2022 were painted in grey, black, or white, while only 98,483 silver cars were painted. Silver previously held first or second place in car buyers’ affections for 12 straight years from 2000 to 2011, meaning that last year was its lowest level in more than two decades.
Red cars took fifth place in the ranking, recording a decline to reach its lowest market share since 2008, at 136,793 cars registered with red paint.
The SMMT report also highlighted Britain’s least popular new car colours, with maroon, pink, and cream recording less than 1% of all registrations last year.
However, orange, yellow, bronze, turquoise and mauve, all posted growth, but still only make up 3.4% of the market share and sold 55,401 units in 2022.
SMMT also revealed that there was a resurgence of the colour green – which reached its highest level of sales in more than 16 years, with sales increasing by 74.2% when compared to 2021, meaning there are more than 31,220 new green cars now on UK roads.
SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes, said: “Car colour choice theoretically proclaims something about who we are as drivers and buying a car today comes with many possibilities to customise your vehicle to match.
“After choosing from the market’s ever-growing choice of makes, models, powertrains, wheel trims and in-car tech, picking out the perfect paint is an exciting decision to make.
“While the most popular shades remained unchanged for 2022, for those looking to ensure their vehicle stands out from the crowd, there remains a huge variety of colour choices from across the rainbow available to suit every character.”
