See The 13 Most Popular Car Colors, Ranked

Cars and Drivers

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Published: March 23, 2024 10:30 am

If you were asked to guess the most popular car color in America, your first guess is likely black or white. The good news is that you have a 50/50 shot of being right. The more difficult question is what would be the least popular car color. Spoiler, it’s not orange or brown. It’s interesting to see the colors that follow black and white. Car color tastes have changed over the years, so it’s a bit of guesswork to see what colors come next.

Thankfully, iSeeCars has analyzed up to 10 million cars sold between 2018 and 2023. Using this data, it has been to rank the least and most popular car colors on the road today. A bit of a spoiler is that the top four colors are all grayscale. With that in mind, we can look at the rest of the data from the least popular color to the most popular color in descending order.

Yellow

When it comes to the least popular color you can find in a car, the answer is yellow. Only 0.1% of all cars sold and tracked by iSeeCars over 5 years were yellow. The caveat here is a belief that yellow cars can depreciate faster than other colors, losing approximately 13.5% of their value over time.

This is good news for sports cars, which are one of the more common yellow vehicle types. Separately, it takes more to make a yellow car paint-wise when you have to mix two separate colors. Also, yellow cars make everything look like a taxi.

Gold

If you can think back to the last time you have seen a gold car, it’s probably been a while. Accounting for only 0.2% of all cars sold, gold cars are unlikely to be seen frequently on the road. On average, it’s believed that 45.6% of a gold car’s value can be lost, which is faster depreciation than many other cars.

There’s also a frequent saying that “gold is old,” which gives the impression that gold cars are only good for seniors and boomers. Think back to a time when gold looked great and was a big hit in the 1970s. Fast forward to today and gold is just out of style.

Purple

It won’t come as any surprise that purple cars tend to not be big sellers. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which purple comes back in style as the market appears to be very limited. Purple remains a difficult color for car manufacturers to perfect, which makes it less likely to mass produce.

With only 0.2% of cars on the road sold in purple, it’s not a common vehicle you will see. Unsurprisingly, purple cars are also likely to depreciate considerably after purchase. Purple can also get dirty quickly and frankly, it just doesn’t look good dirty.

Beige

When it comes to a color many perceive as bland for a vehicle, beige is often top of mind. This makes it no surprise only 0.4% of all cars sold according to iSeeCars are sold in beige. For starters, beige cars are difficult to keep clean which is always a pain. Beige is often best associated with cars that are bland in style, so there isn’t a lot of “wow” factor with a beige car.

If you think of beige, it’s great for pants, hearing aids, and motorhomes. When you put beige on a car, it looks very different. Unsurprisingly, beige cars can also depreciate quickly, which makes buying a car this color less attractive overall.

Orange

Orange might be a great color for Halloween, but it’s not a super popular car color. This is a bit confusing considering orange vehicles retain 18.4% of their value in the first 3 years, which is surprisingly higher than some other colors. However, this higher depreciation value is counter to the idea that only 0.6% of all cars are sold with an orange base.

As is the case with yellow, many orange cars are available with sports cars. As a color that feels very attention-grabbing, orange makes a ton of sense for brands like Porsche and Lamborghini. However, if you pop orange on a family SUV, it looks very out of place in the parking lot.

Brown

Representing just 0.8% of all cars sold according to iSeeCars, brown doesn’t exactly feel like a popular color. One honest reason is that brown is often thought of as a dirty color. Dirt is brown, and so is rust. It just doesn’t feel at home as a primary color on a vehicle. When you factor in that brown cars also hold less of their value in 3 years, it’s easy to overlook brown as an option.

If there is anything brown is good at, it’s hiding any damage that might happen to your vehicle. Small nicks and dents might disappear on a brown car. Unfortunately, this reason isn’t alone doesn’t warrant picking up a brown car.

Green

Finally cracking the 1% mark, green is something of an interesting color choice. While green does sell for less than grayscale colors, it also has lower demand. If you are looking to trade in a green car someday, you won’t get as much as you would if the car were white or black.

On some level, it also depends on what kind of green you are looking at. A forest green car offers a much different perception than a lime green vehicle. One is more likely to blend in on the road than the other. Darker green can look pretty good on higher-end vehicles, especially sports cars, so there is some hope for green yet.

Red

Red car. Detailed photo. Headlights, wheels, parts. Family car. City car. New car. In forest. — Red can be a fantastic color for sports cars and luxury vehicles.

Red is arguably the first color that could truly be considered popular on the iSeeCars list. Accounting for 8% of all car sales, red gives you a sense of power and performance. There is a very good reason why Lamborghini and Ferrari are often best associated with red sports cars. It’s a car that stands out and when you drive an expensive sports car, standing out is exactly what you want to do.

For as long as this author can remember, red has been at the forefront of racing and performance. As red has been around forever, you’re unlikely to have any concerns with lengthy ownership. This would be contrary to a color like gold that has since gone out of style. Red is unlikely to ever fall out of favor.

Blue

Regarded as the fifth most popular car color available today, blue is found on 10% of all cars on the road. Blue offers a similar flashiness to red in some tones without standing out too much. A darker shade of blue can look fantastic on a sports car. A light-blue car might be better suited for a sedan while still retaining much of its resale value.

One big benefit to blue is that it hides dirt better than many grayscale colors. This is true across the many different hues of blue including those you would find on a coupe or an SUV. Blue has long been around as a car color and is likely to be popular for many years into the future.

Silver

One of the grayscale colors that dominates car sales, silver will be found on approximately 12% of every car sold. Silver is a perfectly neutral color that hides dirt well and is consistently easy to maintain. Silver also offers strong resale value with brands like BMW and Mercedes heavily emphasizing silver as part of their lineup.

There is a good chance anyone driving a silver car with a brand like BMW will have a certain status associated. Silver feels luxurious and elite, without feeling like it’s going to drop in resale value. The demand for silver vehicles remains high as a neutral color that shows off a vehicle well.

Gray

trip on a rented car — Grey accounts for 19% of all vehicles sold and remains a timeless color.

Not to be confused with silver, gray is the third most popular car color found on the road today. Accounting for 19% of all vehicles on the road, gray is a timeless color that looks fantastic when clean. It’s a very neutral color that offers a great balance between being flashy without being too flashy. It’s not too dull and provides you with a modern look that holds its value well.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons associated with gray being a popular color is that it hides small nicks well. Regardless of which shade of gray you choose, there’s a good chance it will hide any small hints of damage better than either black or white.

Black

The second most popular car color around, black vehicles account for 22% of every vehicle sold in the U.S. over the last 5 years. A timeless color, black looks great and feels very elegant regardless of the make and model of your vehicle. There’s just something about a black car that feels very modern. This is why black is often found in many sports and high-performance cars.

If there is any downside to black, it’s that it doesn’t hide dirt as well as some other colors. However, when it’s clean, black is arguably the best-looking color. The way black cars shine against the sun is something to really enjoy.

White

As the most popular car color on the road today, white accounts for 26% of all cars on the road. White is a very classic color that looks great on SUVs, sedans, and all other vehicle types. Not only is white a safe choice, but it also holds its resale as well as any other color on the road today. White can show a bit of dirt, but dust isn’t noticeable enough to distract you from choosing this color.

The demand for white vehicles remains high, which should give you confidence in a vehicle’s resale value. Better yet, white cars reflect more sunlight, far more than black, which makes the interior of a white car cooler than cars with other colors.

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