Global automotive color trend analysis 2025

Green and grey will shape the world of automotive colors in 2025, as an analysis of color distribution in the automotive industry shows. According to the BASF Color Report, consumers are increasingly moving away from traditional favorites.

In 2025, the global automotive color world shows a clear shift towards individuality and nature-inspired designs. As BASF Coatings analyzes in its latest Color Report for Automotive OEM Coatings, consumers are increasingly moving away from traditional favorites. Green is the fastest growing chromatic color worldwide, continuing its steady popularity and making it into the top 3, led by blue and red. Both of these once dominant colors have steadily lost ground in recent years. Blue has recently fallen by one percentage point and red has seen an even sharper decline, accounting for just three percent of the overall market share. This marks a clear retreat from classic chromatic color ranges.

Gray recorded significant growth of two percentage points and strengthened its position as a modern and elegant choice. White shows a slight decline, while black remains strong - albeit with fewer solid colors, as the overall share of solid colors has fallen to just 18 percent of the market. This development underlines a global trend that combines timeless elegance with expressive diversity, with green leading the shift towards a more individual and sustainable color world.

The green upward trend continues in the EMEA region. Green overtakes red and asserts itself as a symbol of individuality and sophistication. Silver continues to lose ground, while black and grey consolidate their position within the achromatic palette. White records a slight decline, but adds more nuances to the neutral color range.

"The green trend was already noticeable in the EMEA region a few years ago. Various shades were introduced in our Automotive Color Trends collection and anticipated early on the wide variety of colors we see in this area today," says Florina Trost, Head of Design EMEA at BASF Coatings.

In 2025, the American automotive color world presents a split picture: gray is slightly below the level of 2024, but still significantly above that of 2023.Silver is gaining ground again, while white continues to decline. The share of colored automotive paints has risen by almost two points, showing a stronger preference for expressive colors. While red and blue have historically led the way in America, shades such as green, beige, brown and purple are now gaining momentum, underlining the shift towards nature-inspired and diverse variants.

"In 2021, brown and beige were key colors in our trend collection. The sales figures now confirm these early forecasts and show how long-term trends are permanently shaping the market," says Mark Gutjahr, Global Head of Automotive Color Design at BASF Coatings.

In 2025, achromatic shades will dominate the Asia-Pacific region, with gray showing a clear upward trend while white declines. Black and silver remain stable and underline the continuing appeal of classic neutrals.

Green is steadily gaining popularity among chromatic automotive colors, while blue is declining slightly. The green spectrum now ranges from bright, fresh tones to more traditional, natural shades that represent more sustainability and renewal. Although the overall proportion of chromatic colors has decreased, the variety of shades continues to show the preference for individuality in the Asia-Pacific region."In our previous trend collection, we introduced an almost solid grey with subtle color effects and highlighted an urban, nuanced green, which illustrated adaptability. Today, grey is gaining strength as green spreads throughout the region," says Chiharu Matsuhara, Head of Automotive Color Design for Asia Pacific.

The Color Report for Automotive OEM Coatings from BASF Coatings provides an in-depth analysis of color distribution in the automotive industry and examines preferences on both a global and regional level. The data cited in this report has been calculated by BASF Coatings based on available information on global automotive production and car painting. Together with the annual trend forecast Automotive Color Trends (reported by Oberfläche-Online), the report complements BASF Coatings' expertise in the areas of color and design (OM-1/26).