BASF: New challenge to brighten global automotive trends

● Lower auto production, some popular colors change

● Blue and red are still in their prime

● Despite changes in popular colors, white, black, silver and gray continue to be similar and are preferred by most automakers

The automotive industry faces unprecedented challenges in 2021, with the global automotive production line producing significantly lower volumes of vehicles in 2020 and 2021 compared to previous years
.
According to the newly released "2021 BASF Automotive Original Paint Color Report", the market favors certain color systems more vividly, while some perennially popular colors have declined
.

Achromatic shades of white, black, silver and grey are still the most popular body colours, which not only show a classic beauty that transcends time constraints, but also have a strong connection with the environment, high technology and more
.
However, with the emergence of emerging colors, their sturdy status has also begun to loosen
.

As BASF's designers predicted many years ago, blue is gaining momentum and red is rising like the rising sun, grabbing the market share of achromatic colors in many parts of the world
.
Despite the smaller totals for the green and beige bodywork, the two colors still have a place in the report, and they differ from what VW expected
.

Asia Pacific: Leading Global Color Diversification

White remains the most popular colour in Asia Pacific, but its popularity has begun to decline, with black and grey gaining market share over the past four years, gradually displacing white cars on the road
.
79% of new cars produced in the Asia-Pacific region have a neutral colour as their body colour
.

Although the share of individual colors fluctuated, the trend of colored vehicles in Asia Pacific remained stable
.
Blue surpassed red as the favorite color, which is also in line with the rest of the world, where red has declined
.
Brown and gold have a larger share, while beige, orange, yellow, green and purple are evenly matched at about 1% each
.

Chiharu Matshara, Head of Automotive Color Design Asia Pacific at BASF, points out: “The Asia Pacific region is the region with the largest production volume of automobiles in the world and also reflects the most diversity of colors compared to other regions
.
With the proliferation of blue, the green color palette There has also been an increase in volume, from tan to khaki to olive, which are not the usual greens, especially in the SUV market
.
”

EMEA: A wider range of colors and shades

The color market share in the EMEA region now exceeds 27% and continues to rise, which is also a 20-year peak
.

Blue still leads the color market, from sky blue to midnight blue, and nearly 180 different blues have been launched, reflecting different >
.
Red came second, but was still well behind blue, while green came third
.

Among achromatic colors, white remains the most popular color, followed by gray
.
Grey offers a variety of options, with different effects and textures that multiply its presence
.
Grey comes in up to 160 shades, including elegant, dark, bright to light and sporty solids
.

Mark Gutjahr, Head of Automotive Color Design EMEA at BASF, said: “The colors are based on familiar colors in EMEA, but are changed through new effects, subtle color gradients, or specific flashes.
Make these color palettes stand out, boldly express individuality and athleticism, and become the most popular colors every year
.
”

North America: Rapidly changing color preferences in the Americas

Blue's market situation changed in North America, where its market share fell by 4% compared to last year
.
This shows that consumers' preference for blue is back to 2017 levels
.
Achromatic colors proliferated, including white, which gained market share in North America but declined globally, while silver or gray declined
.
In terms of color, the market share of red has increased by 1%, and red and blue have been tied as the most popular colors
.

A shortage of raw materials in 2021 is forcing automakers to make tough choices when allocating scarce resources, and they appear to be leaning more toward larger, more popular segments in a downturn
.

Paul Czornij, Head of Automotive Color Design Americas at BASF, said: “The North American market seems to be changing the direction of preferences faster
.
As demand rises and supply falls, consumers may be forced to make more pragmatic and less emotional choices.

.
Consumers have moved quickly to more familiar shades in the achromatic gamut
.
”

South America: Following the global trend of color

Blue is trending all over the world
.
In South America, blue took the share of red in the color market by 3%
.
While consumers in the region generally tend to be conservative, some emerging colors will still catch their eye
.

While automotive designers typically develop colors three to four model years ahead, the South American market is following what was expected a few years ago, i.
e.
color selection trends tend to be slower than in other regions
.

Marcos Fernandes, Head of Automotive Coatings South America, BASF Coatings, said: “With substantial growth, blue has really established itself as a market leader in South America
.
Whether it’s sky blue or dark blue, more car buyers are turning to the blue shade
.
We used some beautiful effect pigments, especially metallics, to bring the allure of blue to the extreme
.
”

The "BASF Automotive Original Paint Color Report" released by BASF's Coatings Division analyzes data on global automotive production and light-duty automotive coatings application in 2021
.