White continues to be the most popular car color, but that hasn’t stopped Axalta from selecting something far bolder as their 2021 Global Automotive Color of the Year.
Known as ElectroLight, it’s billed as an “expressively refreshing green-yellow hue with inspired bold, contemporary flavors that echo style, energy and flair.” It’s also versatile and is said to pair well with two-tone charcoal color accents as well as matte finishes.
While the color is certainly interesting, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Axalta said ElectroLight is formulated with reflective properties that make it “highly visible to light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems, while its layer structure and pigment content are easily transmissible by radio detection and ranging (radar) systems.” In effect, the color has been designed with autonomous driving technology in mind.
Also Read: And The Most Popular Car Color Of 2020 Was… You Guessed It – White
Besides being high-tech, Axalta’s global product manager of color said ElectroLight “evokes sustainability, happiness and safety.” Nancy Lockhart added, “Consumers are looking for a breakout color and ElectroLight manifests this, while bringing a progressive approach to automotive styling and design.”
While white remains the most popular automotive color choice, Axalta noted interest in more expressive colors is increasing. In particular, consumers are looking for something that delivers a “more customized and personalized look.”
That being said, Axalta’s 2020 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report found that ‘boring’ colors are clearly the most popular. White covers 38% of vehicles while black and grey are applied to 19% and 15%, respectively. Vibrant colors such as blue, red, yellow and green were stuck in the single digits.
There are a number of reasons to explain the popularity of ‘boring’ colors including better resale values and the fact that dealerships don’t want to get stuck with a wildly colored car that only appeals to a handful of people. It’s also been noted that white, black, grey and silver basically ‘go with everything.’
