What were the most popular car colours in 2022?

Grey is the UK’s most popular new car colour for the fifth consecutive year with a 25.7% market share, followed by black and white to complete a monochrome podium.

More than six in 10 (62.5%) new cars hitting British roads in 2022 were painted in grey, black or white. By contrast, colours such as blue and red, which used to be top of the charts, have seen a continual decline.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said: “Car colour choice theoretically proclaims something about who we are as drivers and buying a car today comes with many possibilities to customise your vehicle to match. After choosing from the market’s ever-growing choice of makes, models, powertrains, wheel trims and in-car tech, picking out the perfect paint is an exciting decision to make.

“While the most popular shades remained unchanged for 2022, for those looking to ensure their vehicle stands out from the crowd, there remains a huge variety of colour choices from across the rainbow available to suit every character.”

Here are the top 10 colours for 2022 and how you can find a great example of each (and save thousands on new!) at cartime.

1.     Grey

For the fifth consecutive year, grey is the most popular choice for UK buyers and it accounts for more than a quarter of the market.

With a variety of different shades such as Land Rover’s Corris Grey, Ford’s Magnetic and Volkswagen’s Urano Grey, more than 415,000 were registered across the country.

Grey was also the top selling colour in every region and every county in the UK, bar the Scottish Borders where blue pushed it into second spot. The most popular grey car sold was the Nissan Qashqai but it was also the most selected for the Ford Puma, Mini Hatch, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Tucson and Volkswagen Golf.

Click here to see all the grey cars we currently have available at cartime.

2.     Black

The most popular colour from 2010 to 2013 and also in 2018, black continues to remain the UK’s second favourite.

It is also the most popular colour for executive cars and luxury saloons and overall 324,993 were sold throughout the year and they accounted for 20.1%. However the colour saw a 3.7% decline.

The Nissan Qashqai once again was the most popular black model sold and it was also the favourite for Ford Kuga and PHEV buyers and you can browse through all the black cars we have in stock by clicking here. 

3.     White

Taking third place in 2022 was white which was the most popular colour from 2014 to 2017. While it still remains one of the UK’s favourite colours for cars, it has seen a 4.8% decrease from the previous year.

With more than 268,000 registered, white is the most popular shade for the supermini and multi-purpose segments and the most common car you’ll see in the colour from last year is the Tesla Model 3. It was also the most selected colour for the Vauxhall Corsa and Tesla Model Y.

Some of the top whites include Mercedes’ Polar White, BMW’s Alpine White and Audi’s Shell White.

If you fancy having a white shade on your next car, click here to see our available models.

4.     Blue

Blue was chosen by more than 259,000 customers last year and it was also the most popular for Scotland. It has seen a decrease of 7.5% but is still a great choice for those who don’t want a white, black or grey model.

Taking a 16% share in the market, it was also the favourite colour for Ford Fiesta drivers in 2022.

Less than 20 years ago, blue was the second favourite colour but has continued to drop down in recent years. Despite this it can be had in a variety of different shades including Ford’s Deep Impact Blue, Nissan’s Ink Blue and Vauxhall’s Aegean Blue.

Browse through our blue stock cars by clicking here.

5.     Red

Red, although retaining its fifth-place ranking, recorded a decline to reach its lowest market share since 2008, at 136,793 units accounting for 8.5% of all cars registered.

It proved to be the most popular colour for Berkshire residents with 6,735 registrations and once again the Nissan Qashqai is the most common car to spot in a red shade.

Some of our favourite red colours include BMW’s Melbourne Red, Mercedes’s Hyacinth Red and Jaguar’s Firenze Red.

Click here to see all our red stock cars. 

6.     Silver

Perhaps displaying the most drastic change in our buying habits, Silver, which held first or second place in car buyers’ affections for 12 straight years from 2000 to 2011, posted just 98,483 units and a 6.1% market share in 2022 – its lowest level in more than two decades.

The Ford Puma was the most popular car to be selected in silver last year and despite it’s decline it remains a popular choice for certain models including Mercedes Benz’s Iridium Silver and Vauxhall’s Sovereign Silver.

Our silver cars can be browsed through by clicking here.

7.     Green

The most improved colour of 2022, more than 31,000 were registered which was a huge 74.2% increase on 2021. With a resurgence in popularity, it is the best year for the colour in 16 years.

Fittingly a quarter of all green coloured cars, were plug-in or electric models and it has also become a standard for certain models such as the Peugeot 308 and Fiat 500 which is popular in a Mint Green. The highest number of green cars were registered in Greater London and the most popular model was the MINI Hatchback.

Take a look at the green cars we have available by clicking here. 

8.     Orange

With 19,403 registered, Orange cars accounted for just 1.2% of all cars sold in 2022.  It was a 16.6% increase on the previous year however, and shows brighter colours are becoming more popular again.

Strathclyde registered more orange cars (1,313) than any other county, and popular examples include the Peugeot 2008, which was the most popular for the colour, the Vauxhall Corsa and also the Ford Focus and Fiesta ST models.

Have a look at out orange models by clicking here.

9.     Yellow

Another bright colour, Yellow saw an 19.1% increase to post sales of 10,662 and taking a 0.7% share of the UK market.

The Peugeot 208 was the most common car to select the colour in but has also proven popular on Audi’s A1 and Kia Stonic.

Click here to find our yellow cars in stock. 

10. Bronze

Bronze was selected on 7,800 cars last year and it was another colour which had a huge increase (73.3%) on the previous year.

While only making up 0.5% of the market, it hints at a broader trend for more distinctive coloured cars. The Toyota Yaris was the most popular for bronze-favouring customers and the Peugeot 3008 was another popular choice as well.

The choice of bronze cars we have on offer can be found here.