Most popular colours for new cars revealed – with blue back in top three

Blue has become one of the top three most popular colours for new cars for the first time since 2010.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 291,928 new cars registered last year were blue.

That was 1.6% more than in the previous year, and represents a market share of 14.9%.

White dropped from third place to fourth with 291,629 registrations, a year-on-year decline of 7.2%.

Grey retained top spot with a market share of 27.8%, with black (21.7%) remaining at number two.

Reflecting the growing popularity of low or zero-emission new cars, there were 68,230 registrations with the colour green, up 27.7%.

Green

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “While 2024 saw more new car buyers go green, with a record number of EVs reaching the road, the face of the market remains familiar, with grey and black proving perennially popular.

“While manufacturers strive to ensure every driver can have their pick of a vast choice of paint colours and personalisation options to suit their individual tastes, it seems UK car buyers’ preferences remain steadfastly monochrome.”

Manufacturer Renault said it hopes to “bring some joie de vivre to the UK’s roads” by making its new Renault 5 car available in vibrant colours named Pop Yellow and Pop Green.