Axalta Releases Global Automotive 2014 Color Popularity Report and Future Trends
Axalta Coating Systems, a leading global supplier of liquid and powder coatings and an authority on automotive colour and colour trending information, recently released its ‘Global Automotive 2014 Color Popularity Report’.
The report, which has annually tracked regional automotive colour preferences since 1953, is the most comprehensive in the industry. This year’s report offers an introduction to Color Matrix, Axalta’s automotive colour forecast for use on future production vehicles. It makes interesting reading for close observers of future trends.
“Our Color Popularity Report data not only allows us to see the colours most favoured by consumers but, more importantly, it enables us to forecast future trends. Every year, designers from our OEM customers depend on our advanced forecasting to make critical decisions regarding colour choices for their vehicle line-up two to four years in advance,” stated David Fischer, Vice President of Marketing for Axalta’s global light vehicle OEM business.
This year’s forecast, which looks at trends for the next few years, includes a wide variety of colour types that will influence the global automotive market. The upcoming trends showcase four colour groups: pale hues, bright colours, muted versions and dark shades. The matrix of colours is shown in fine or coarse metallics, solids, tintcoats, tricoats and pearlescent varieties. Advanced colour technologies from Axalta’s global research and development teams add further to the breadth of colour style combinations.
“Our global colour specialists formulate the next generation of coatings colours, as we continually aspire to meet the needs of the constantly changing market,” said Nancy Lockhart, Axalta Color Marketing Manager. “At Axalta, we are committed to partnering with our customers to provide the best possible coatings, combining our perspective on future trends with manufacturers’ knowledge of their customers and markets. The result we continually strive for is an ever-evolving colour palette for automotive designers.”
Global Automotive 2014 Color Popularity Report Highlights
The world colour data shows that white, at 29 percent, remains the most popular shade on vehicles for the fourth year in a row, while colour is showing signs of coming back with red, blue and yellow each increasing by one percent. Black, at 19 per cent, is still strong overall in the market, but has dropped one percent since last year.
North America
· White tops the charts at 25 per cent
· Red, more popular in North America than other regions, climbed three percent in popularity
· White, silver and black declined one per cent this year
· Pearlcoats are the most popular coating in the United States
· Solid white is preferred in Mexico
South America
· A strong preference for white at 27 per cent of vehicles and silver, at 25 per cent, shows light colours are the most popular
· Black is third in popularity at 12 per cent
· Red increased one percent this year to 11 per cent overall, showing an increase in preference for colours
Europe
· Europe has the most blue vehicles on the road, with the main interest in light and mid shades
· Major increases in blue were seen in the compact/sport and intermediate multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) categories
· Silver has continued to decline this year
· The megatrend white has decreased by two percent
· Green is not catching the eye of the car buyer, and it remains at only one percent popularity
Asia
· There is a strong preference for white at 30 per cent, with the highest usage in South Korea at 34 per cent
· Black has dropped slightly in preference, but holds second place at 19 per cent
· Black is most popular on luxury vehicles in China at 24 per cent
· Blue is more popular in Japan than in other countries in Asia
This evolving and comprehensive colour trend information from Axalta enables its three global refinish brands – Cromax®, Spies Hecker and Standox – to offer their bodyshops extremely fast access to refinish colour formulas. With such a seamless link between Axalta’s OEM and refinish businesses, bodyshops can repair even the newest of OEM colours and trends.
Adrien Schrobiltgen, Vice-President for Axalta’s Refinish Systems in Europe, Middle East and Africa says, “Our three global refinish brands can really benefit from our OEM colour trend data. In turn our refinish customers and end-users, as well as vehicle owners, can reap the benefit of our research and development teams, who help us to introduce new refinish formulas to the market so quickly. And by not only focusing on the present, but also looking to trends of the future, we underscore Axalta’s commitment to innovate with purpose.”
More 2014 Color Popularity data and information on the Color Matrix trend categories can be found at:http://www.axaltacs.com/corporate/en_US/industries/transportation-coatings/transportation-coatings-for-light-vehicles/color.html