• The most popular non-grayscale color for a new car is blue, followed by red, green, and orange.
  • The average new car in 2023 was available with 6.7 color options from the factory.
  • Colorful cars are very much an endangered species these days.

Last week, while driving my bright yellow Renault, I took a moment to analyze the colors of the cars around me. All I could see was black, white, silver, and gray. A new study has revealed that cars are indeed significantly less colorful than they once were, and grayscale colors dominate the industry.

iSeeCars reports that during the 2004 model year in the U.S., grayscale cars comprised 60.3% of the market. Fast forward to 2023, and shades of black, white, silver, and gray, now account for 80% of all new cars sold, a sad statistic for anyone who likes brightly-colored cars, like yours truly.

Read: New Car Prices Creep Back Up After Months of Hibernation

The study reveals that of the four ‘grayscale’ colors, white is the most popular, accounting for 27.6% of all new cars sold in 2023 compared to 15.6% in 2004. Black is the next most popular, with a 22% share, rising from 14% two decades ago. Gray comes in third with a 21.3% share, while 9.1% of all new cars sold are painted silver. Interestingly, the proportion of new vehicles painted silver has dropped 52.2% since 2004.

It’s not the reduced availability of other colors that’s to blame. In fact, the average new car in 2023 had 6.7 color options compared to 7.1 colors for the average model in 2004. There has been a slight flattening of the curve in the past few years for grayscale colors, indicating “a possible maximum market tolerance for these four colors.”

Vehicle Color Market Share
Color20232004% Change
White27.6%15.6%77.4%
Black22.0%14.0%56.5%
Gray21.3%11.7%81.9%
Silver9.1%19.0%-52.2%
Blue8.9%10.8%-18.0%
Red7.3%11.9%-38.1%
Green2.0%4.0%-50.6%
Orange0.5%0.6%-14.8%
Beige0.5%3.4%-86.3%
Brown0.4%3.0%-86.5%
Yellow0.2%0.9%-75.7%
Gold0.1%4.0%-96.8%
Purple0.1%1.0%-92.7%
Grayscale Colors –
White, Black, Gray, Silver		80.0%60.3%32.6%
Non-Grayscale Colors20.0%39.7%-49.6%
iSeeCars
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The most popular non-grayscale color in 2023 was blue, with an 8.9% share of the market or 18% less than in 2004. It was followed by red at 7.3% (down 38.1% from 2004), green at 2% (down 50.6% from 2004), and orange at 0.5% (down 14.8% from 2004).

Where’d The Fun Colors Go? 80% Of New Cars Now Grayscale
Where’d The Fun Colors Go? 80% Of New Cars Now Grayscale
Where’d The Fun Colors Go? 80% Of New Cars Now Grayscale
Where’d The Fun Colors Go? 80% Of New Cars Now Grayscale

“Colorful cars appear to be an endangered species,” iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer said. “Despite a diverse palette being offered by automakers, there are far fewer non-grayscale cars sold today. They’ve lost half their market share over the past 20 years, and they could become even rarer in another 20 years.”

Truck Color Market Share
Color20232004% Change
Beige0.7%3.1%-77.6%
Black20.0%14.4%39.3%
Blue9.6%9.5%0.5%
Brown0.5%2.7%-79.4%
Gold0.1%2.5%-97.5%
Gray20.6%11.6%77.5%
Green1.7%3.9%-56.9%
Orange0.4%0.5%-28.2%
Purple0.0%1.4%-97.4%
Red7.2%16.8%-56.9%
Silver7.9%12.7%-37.9%
White30.9%19.8%56.5%
Yellow0.4%1.2%-67.9%
Grayscale Colors –
White, Black, Gray, Silver		79.4%58.4%35.9%
Non-Grayscale Colors20.6%41.6%-50.5%
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SUV Color Market Share
Color20232004% Change
White26.7%14.7%81.9%
Black23.1%15.8%45.9%
Gray21.1%10.4%102.4%
Silver9.2%19.4%-52.8%
Blue8.5%11.2%-24.5%
Red7.1%9.2%-23.3%
Green2.5%5.3%-52.3%
Brown0.5%3.5%-85.7%
Beige0.5%3.6%-87.2%
Orange0.3%0.6%-47.2%
Gold0.2%4.5%-95.7%
Yellow0.2%0.8%-75.6%
Purple0.0%0.9%-94.5%
Grayscale Colors –
White, Black, Gray, Silver		80.2%60.4%32.7%
Non-Grayscale Colors19.8%39.6%-49.9%
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Passenger Car Color Market Share
Color20232004% Change
White24.8%12.3%101.8%
Gray22.7%13.0%73.9%
Black21.6%13.6%58.8%
Blue9.9%11.0%-10.1%
Silver9.4%22.9%-58.9%
Red8.2%11.2%-26.4%
Green1.2%3.0%-59.3%
Orange1.0%0.6%61.4%
Beige0.4%3.4%-87.8%
Yellow0.3%1.0%-70.3%
Purple0.2%0.9%-78.9%
Brown0.1%2.6%-94.4%
Gold0.1%4.4%-98.5%
Grayscale Colors –
White, Black, Gray, Silver		78.5%61.9%26.9%
Non-Grayscale Colors21.5%38.1%-43.6%
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Sports Car Color Market Share

Color20232004% Change
Gray20.1%11.1%81.0%
White19.4%6.3%209.7%
Black19.4%19.8%-2.1%
Red14.3%22.0%-35.1%
Blue13.2%10.9%20.7%
Silver3.5%20.9%-83.0%
Green3.4%0.5%537.0%
Orange3.4%1.9%76.4%
Yellow2.0%4.9%-59.3%
Purple0.8%0.9%-10.1%
Beige0.3%0.3%-4.8%
Brown0.2%0.2%3.7%
Gold0.0%0.3%-85.2%
Grayscale Colors –
White, Black, Gray, Silver		62.4%58.1%7.5%
Non-Grayscale Colors37.5%41.9%-10.3%
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