Pink cars surge in popularity while blue and silver become less desirable, new figures reveal
Pink cars are surging in popularity in the UK while blue and silver are becoming less desirable, new figures reveal, as the RAC claim drivers increasingly want to stand out with garish paint jobs.
The number of pink cars registered with the DVLA has risen from 19,959 in March 2017 to 22,728 in March 2020, according to figures obtained by the motoring organisation.
Meanwhile, blue and silver vehicles have declined in popularity in the same period, falling from 5,806,628 to 5,593,298 and 6,783,347 to 5,756,535 respectively.
The RAC believes the changing trends reflect the desire of motorists to make a fashion statement with the colour of their cars and not fade into the background while driving.
Simon Williams, insurance spokesman at the organisation, said: "It’s always very interesting trying to work out at what point a colour goes out of fashion. Clearly, this is what happened with silver which was the number-one choice in 2017 but fell back into second a year later and has remained there ever since.
“While taste in car colours is very individual and subject to what manufacturers offer, there must come a point where drivers feel a particular colour has become too common and think they should opt for something else, after all it wouldn’t be much fun if we all drove the same colour cars.
“Grey is very much still in vogue, but silver’s appeal is waning, having shrunk in overall numbers by 340,000 in the last three years. Blue is also out of favour, with just under 90,000 fewer registered cars now on the road than the same time in 2019."
Black continues to be the most popular colour of car, according to the RAC's data, with the number of vehicles exhibiting this paint job steadily increasing since 2017. There are currently 6.6 million on the road, accounting for 20 per cent of all vehicles.
Similarly, white cars have maintained their popularity over the years, rising from 3.4 million to 4.4 million between 2017 and 2020.
Red, green, orange, beige and brown are among the top 10 most common car colours. However, yellow, purple, gold, bronze, turquoise, maroon and cream continue to dominate the lower end of the popularity scale.
Mutlicoloured cars remain the least popular, with only 6,724 registered in the UK this year. The number has fallen significantly since 2017, when there were 7,455.
Celebrities including singer Nicki Minaj, heiress Paris Hilton and TV personality Katie Price have all been spotted with pink cars in recent years - including a Lamborghini, Bentley and Range Rover.
Dame Joan Collins was renowned for driving her pink Ford Thunderbird around Los Angeles in the 1950s and 60s while trying to break into Hollywood as an actress.
Lady Penelope, a fictional character from the 1960s science fiction television series Thunderbirds, was driven around in an iconic pink Rolls-Royce by her chauffeur Parker.
The 8ft-long steel model car had a Perspex roof allowing puppeteers to move the characters around inside it.
It was put up for sale on the website eBay in 2004 by auction specialist Cooper Owen on behalf of a private collector.
Custom-built, the model has two front doors, steering mechanics, working lamps and leather seats, but no engine or gear stick.
