Color Trends in Europe

Europe  is confirming predictions of a growing  preference for stronger colors in coatings  with a lot  of the color coming through the application of  new special effects.

The trend, which has been forecast by color specialists  to start to become apparent around 2016 and then accelerate over the next few years, has been particularly evident in the choices of  buyers of new cars.

The automobile sector usually reflects the underlying color preferences  of consumers which are repeated across other sectors like interior  decoration,  household  appliances, electronic devices and above all in fashion.

In fact the current fondness for more color could be influenced  by  the colorful design of portable devices in constant use such as smartphones  and the images  on their displays.

In a report on Automotive Colour Trends in 2016-2017, BASF Coatings describes this phenomenon as being the combination of  two different perspectives of the  world based on the virtual and the physical. “(They are) experienced  when one looks out of a moving car,” the report  says. “While trees at the  edge of the road seem to rush by in blurry streaks, the landscape further away in much easier to make out and enjoy.”

The forecasters have been warning that the swing to more powerful  colors could falter in the midst of an economic downturn or  political uncertainties.  Then the move will be to more muted colors.
Otherwise the momentum behind the desire for more color should gather pace through  2017 and even beyond.

The latest breakdown of  preferences among European car owners  do not, on the face of it, show a marked shift  to color because of  the continued dominance of achromatic or ‘uncolorful’  coatings –white, black, gray and silver

In 2015   the percentage of white  vehicles in the European automotive sectors was around 30 percent, with black at 19 percent, grey 15 percent and silver 13 percent, according to BASF  figures. 
These had a total share of over three quarters  with the remainder comprising mainly blue, red, brown, beige, purple,  gold, yellow and orange.  Of these, blue accounted for the largest proportion of 39 percent, followed by  red at 27 percent, brown 17 percent and beige 7 percent.

This year the ascendancy of  the achromatic coatings in the European OEM market appears not to have altered much.

There are big color differences, nonetheless,  between types of vehicles in Europe. Figures  issued in late October  by PPG  show over half of newly manufactured minivans and light trucks were white and  luxury vehicles were mostly grey. Small and compact models were most likely to have  blue and  red shades while SUVs were most likely to have gold, beige or yellow shades.

However, the vast majority of achromatic  OEM coatings  have special effects which add  sparkle or other reflections or refractions combined with colors which change  according to the angle of vision.  Often these effects are an important  way for automobile  manufacturers to differentiate their brands. “(We)  provide individual solutions through our colors  and effects,” said Mark Gutjahr, Europe design head at BASF Coatings.

Most effects come from metallic or pearlescent materials with the former reflecting light with a rich glow or luster while the other through refraction provides a shimmering variett of colors.

However, with white  OEM colors there are signs in Europe of  lack of enthusiasm among  car owners for rich pearlescent effects.  Figures from Axalta, the former DuPont coatings business based in Germany, reveal that last year there was in Europe a 25 percent preference for solid white and only 4 percent for pearl white compared with a world average of 11 percent.

The company is predicting a decline in the European popularity of white in automobile, mainly because of the difficulty and expense  of repairing damaged pearl  white coatings. Instead pearl white will be mainly replaced by ceramic white.

“At a distance, ceramic white looks  more solid but when viewed more closely a combination of pearlescent and aluminium metallic effects give it in a light grey  appearance,”explained  Christina Luedecke, a technical specialist in OEM coatings at Axalta.

Overall color coatings are gaining share in the OEM sector  with the preferences for white, black, grey and silver declining from a peak of around 90 percent five years ago. 

PPG  reckons that  blue’s popularity has risen by 3 percent in the car market across the world  this year with growth  in Europe  and the U.S.  In 2017-18 there will continue to be a rise in demand for blue in cars, according to Jane Harrington, PPG color-styling manager for OEM coatings.

“Blue is a very versatile color  for the automotive market  because  subtle shifts in the hue, chroma and flake appearance of a blue coating can do a lot to enhance a vehicle’s style or distinguish a brand,” she says.

In fact blue has become increasingly fashionable in other sectors as well in Europe.  Traditionally a favorite color, it is going through a revival.

For 2017, color and design experts at AkzoNobel, the European market leader in decorative paints,  have chosen a grey-blue, named Denim Drift, as the Color of the Year for its Dulux Trade decorative paint brand.  It will be part of a palette of blues.

“Creating a blue color scheme provides commercial specifiers with flexibility in both a residential and commercial setting  with hues that run the gamut of being calming and energizing,”said Louise Tod from the Dulux Global Aesthetics Centre.

BASF  launched this summer a  collection of effect colors for the auto market, where changes in viewing angles revealed new colors and textures.  They included metallic blues, which the company believes will help blue gain market share.

Under its Xirallic brand for aluminium-based pigments, Merck Group of Germany, a global leader in effect pigments, has introduced a bluish white version  to complement black and silver-gray appearances  and another with a more intense and brilliant blue.  Also it has launched under its Suprima label blue, red and gold effect pigments which give exact color values for coatings applications.

Effect pigments are reinforcing their capability for extending the versatility of colors at a time when consumers want to gain more from them.