A recent study confirms that black’s reign as the most popular color
for new cars in the United States has been overthrown by white.
In 2011, about 20 percent of new cars purchased in the
U.S. were ordered in white, a color that has long been billed as
complicated to keep clean. Some industry insiders believe that the
color’s recent comeback is the direct result of Apple promoting white
iPods, iPads and iMac computers.
“Prior to Apple, white was associated with things like refrigerators or the tiles in your bathroom. Apple made white valuable,” explained Sandy McGill, BMW Designworks’ lead designer in color, materials and finish.
The
story is a little different outside of the U.S. Black and gray are
still the most popular new car colors in Europe while silver and white
come out on top in Asia. Whether or not there is a correlation between
the rising popularity of white in Asia and Apple products remains to be
proven.
White is not expected to retain the top spot in the color
kingdom for very long. McGill and others in her field expect that blue,
orange and brown will become the next must-have colors all around the
world, especially in premium segments.
