Put the Just for Men down: Britons are going grey gracefully, it seems.
For the sixth year in a row, it was grey that topped the new car colour charts in 2023, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) confirm.
More than half a million (509,194) grey cars were registered in 2023 – a 22.6 per cent increase in volume on 2022 – as Britons continue to stick by monochrome tones for their automobiles.
In fact, more than one in four (26.8 per cent) new cars registered last year were grey. But there’s a very good reason for why the majority are selecting one of the blandest paint choices…
For the sixth year in a row, the most popular car colour in the UK was grey – more than a quarter of all new motors registered. But there’s a very savvy reason for why Britons are buying bland tones
The new car market enjoyed its best year since the pandemic in 2023, but buyer’s tastes stayed the same when it came to paint options, with black and white the second and third most popular colours.
It means the top three bland base colours have remained the same for the last six years, as Britain’s new car buyers turn very predicable indeed.
The monochrome trio made up almost two-thirds (63.5 per cent) of all new cars on British roads in 2023.
Yet Britons are right to play it safe with these colours, even if it might seem uninspiring.
This is because grey cars make a lot of financial sense.
Colour can have a very big impact on a car’s residual values. For instance, a bright pink vehicle will always have a smaller customer base than a grey or black one, thus likely reducing the price the next buyer is willing to pay when it hits the used market.
And because the vast majority of private buyers today fund new cars using PCP finance deals – which pays off the vehicle’s depreciation – monthly repayments can be higher for cars in unusual shades, which face lower residual values due to reduced demand on the second-hand market.
The UK’s best selling new car of 2023 – the Ford Puma – sold the most in grey, but the top selling grey car was the Nissan Qashqai.
In patriotic fashion, blue and red completed the top five, with the former gaining huge popularity.
Demand for blue paint rose 10.9 per cent to snatch the fourth most popular new car colour, so expect to see many more driving past this year.
However, red (which clung on to fifth place) recorded its lowest market share since 2005, with its popularity dwindling since 2019.
Blue and red completed the top five most popular new car colours, though demand for the latter appears to be dwindling
Britain’s taste in new car colours over the last decade: The move to monochrome seems to be unshifting
The annual SMMT new car registration figures showed which new car colours UK drivers were snapping up last year and where
But the big surprise of the year was the resurgence of green; the colour often associated with nature, growth, and renewal (as well as luck and optimism) reached its highest market share since 2004.
Commanding 2.8 per cent market share and the highest volume sold since 2005 with 53,426 units, there were significantly more verde cars on the road than in the last 20 years.
While it seems natural to attribute this to the move towards a more environmentally-friendly future, green is not in fact the colour of choice for new electric or hybrid cars.
Instead, zero emissions vehicles – which also had a record year in terms of registrations – most commonly hit the roads in tones of grey, just like petrol and diesel cars.
While you’d expect the resurgence of the colour green to be a nod to the environment for electric car owners, it was in fact more popular for combustion cars
Zero emissions cars, like this KIA EV6, instead followed the grey trend set by combustion cars and weren’t responsible for the newfound popularity of green
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: ‘2023 was a bumper year for the British new car market, as buyers continued to gravitate towards familiar monochrome hues for another year – even as ever more motorists embrace new technologies.’
READ MORE: Britain’s best-selling new car driven
All hail Britain’s new King of cars!
Having amassed 49,591 sales, Ford’s Puma has officially dethroned the Nissan Qashqai as the most popular new motor in the UK in 2023.
But before it officially received its crown as the UK’s top choice motor, we’ve spent a week driving one to tell you if it is worthy of the title…
However, it wasn’t all banal monochromes for British motorists.
There were a few pockets of colour, with people putting some bright rays on the road.
Some 604 registrations were maroon, pink and cream cars – something of a small tribute to individuality.
The residents of Strathclyde demonstrated their sunny dispositions ranking for the most registrations of yellow in the UK, with 677 sold in the area.
And Berkshire is the county to move to if you’re a Barbie fan because it registered the most pink cars – one in 10, in fact.
‘Car manufacturers have diligently expanded their offerings, with a huge selection of colour options available across hundreds of models and thousands of specification options,’ Hawes added.
‘The extensive variety allows drivers flexibility in choosing a tint that embodies their individuality and style.’
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