How do brand strategies influence your car color choice?

Aesthetics are the key factor when deciding to buy anything, especially a car. In the end, we usually opt for the vehicle that we like the most within our budget. The design and appearance of the car play a crucial role, including the color of it.

Car manufacturers are aware of this preference and are increasingly offering the most popular colors as an option. On the other hand, the free color is generally the one that is least appreciated.

The color of a car is both aesthetically and commercially essential for the brand, but it does not play a crucial role in the purchase decision. If the customer likes the car, he will be determined to buy it, regardless of its color . In case of preference for a color other than that offered free of charge, the customer will then have to go through the checkout.

However, the choice of color is not limited to the simple difference between metallic or solid, matte or tri-coat paint, but rather is a question of color in itself. Typically, brands offer a free color that they believe won't be the most popular with the majority of their customers.

Since, at least in Europe, the brand can't charge for painting the car, it has to offer at least one officially free tint. This free color is chosen based on the most requested colors in the options list.

So many colors within our reach and we always opt for achromatic tones.

Since the majority of new cars sold globally in 2022 were neutral colors like white, black, gray or silver , car manufacturers tend to choose colors that are the opposite of this trend or which are not consistent with the car's target audience.

In some cases, manufacturers will even directly offer opposite colors on the color wheel to highlight a specific option. Color choices may also depend on the manufacturer's interests and the colors they wish to promote.

Take the example of BMW , a brand where renting and leasing are common. For models such as the BMW 1 Series and BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé , the free color offered is plain black . However, this color is generally avoided as it is considered dull and easily reveals dirt and scratch marks.

Since these cars have a high resale value compared to competing brands (which is important for private buyers and end-of-lease or rental customers), choosing more subdued colors is encouraged.

For an additional cost of 841 euros, it is possible to choose one of the three tones of metallic gray , metallic white or metallic black for the Series 1 , which are more valuable than a simple off-black.

Solid black is a free option for the 4 Series Gran Coupé , but solid white costs just €378. Other metallic colors cost more than €1,200. Strangely, if you opt for an M version or an M Pack for the 4 Series Gran Coupé , the white color becomes the free option and the metallic colors cost more than 2,000 euros.

Playing with tastes and emotions

Yellow cars are harder to sell on the used market and are therefore generally less expensive.

It might seem that these tricks are used mostly by premium car manufacturers, since these brands place a higher emphasis on customization than general brands. However, even the affordable Dacia brand is adopting a similar policy.

Take the example of the Dacia Duster : the colors available as standard are very different from those used by the brand in its communication (advertising, events, press, etc.), where colors such as metallic orange are frequently found. , metallic gray and the new Lichen Khaki green , all offered as options at an additional cost of 520 euros.

The brand also offers a white option for pragmatic customers, at a price of 208 euros. However, choosing a solid black color for a car that will be more likely to be used in fields than on paved roads, is surprising as it is more likely to scratch easily.

Generalist brands are not to be outdone and some stand out for their originality and audacity in their color offer. For example, the facelifted Kia XCeed features a color that can be very attractive in strong sunlight, but gets rejection from many people: Splash Lemon , a dark metallic yellow.

Customers show a moral preference by paying 208 euros for a plain white color paintwork rather than 520 euros for a brighter metallic color (such as orange, red, blue or green) or more neutral (such as the six achromatic colors available).

This color prominence strategy is not exclusive to Kia , as other brands like Renault and Hyundai also offer low-key color options to facilitate later resale, such as dark navy without metallic on the Renault Captur. E-Tech or Solid Red on the Hyundai Tucson Hybrid .

The logic would be to think that the color white is free, but no, unlike orange it is optional.

Even in high-end ranges, bright colors are not always preferred by customers who prefer more sober colors. Audi , for example, offers ' Pulse Orange ' metallic orange as the standard color for the Audi Q3 , while white, black and gray are paid options that can cost upwards of 900 euros.

In contrast, in the sports car segment, color is of particular importance as customers often wish to have the same color as used in brand communication.

An example of this is the Hyundai i30 N and its iconic Performance Blue color . Although the free color is a solid red, which is diametrically opposed (or almost) to light blue on the color wheel. For those who prefer Performance Blue or other optional metallic or pearl colors, this comes at an additional cost of 500 euros.

Brands often use color to evoke emotions in consumers. Indeed, our personal experiences, culture, and even human biology influence our emotional associations with certain colors and intangible attributes.

For example, red is often associated with passion and white evokes purity. When it comes to cars, English green can evoke a certain vintage luxury, while matte gray can evoke sportiness.

However, car manufacturers generally do not choose the color of our cars for us, unless we choose to buy a preconfigured car for faster delivery. Instead, car brands follow market trends and steer us toward popular color choices, even if it doesn't necessarily match our personal preferences. After all, these companies are not charities.