The total number of new vehicles produced worldwide in 2020 and 2021 was significantly lower than in previous years. As a result, some colors in the BASF Color Report 2021 for Automotive OEM Coatings gained in popularity, while some long-time leaders fell back. Still most popular are the achromatic shades of white, black, gray and silver. However, as BASF designers predicted years ago, blue and red are riding high, taking market share away from achromatic colors in many parts of the world.
The share of chromatic colors in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is now over 27% - and rising. This represents a record high for more than 20 years. "The shades for the EMEA region focus on familiar color ranges and bring change with new effects, subtle color gradients and glitter effects. This gives chromatic shades the distinctive expression of individuality and sportiness and results in them gaining more and more popularity every year," says Mark Gutjahr, Head of Automotive Color Design, EMEA.