BASF’s 2025 Color Report reveals a global shift toward green and gray as automotive colors move away from traditional favorites toward individuality and nature-inspired design.
In 2025, the global automotive color landscape reflects a clear shift toward individuality and nature-inspired aesthetics as consumers continue to move away from traditional favorites, as analyzed by BASF Coatings in the latest Color Report for Automotive OEM Coatings. Green emerges as the strongest growing chromatic signal worldwide, continuing its steady rise and making it into the Top 3 led by blue and red. Once dominant, both colors decline year after year. Blue drops by one percentage point and red sees an even steeper decrease, marking only three percent of the total market share. This defines a clear retreat from classic chromatic norms.
Gray records a significant increase of two percentage points, strengthening its position as a modern-elegant choice. White shows a slight decline, and black remains strong but with fewer solid finishes, as overall solid colors shrink to just 18 percent of the market. This development underscores a global trend that combines timeless elegance with expressive diversity, with green leading the shift toward a more individual and sustainable color palette.
EMEA: From silver to green – a new chapter for automotive colors
In the EMEA region, the green upward trend continues. Green has overtaken red and established itself as a sign of individuality and sophistication. Silver continues to decline in importance, while black and gray reinforce their positions within the achromatic palette. White shows a slight decrease but adds more nuances to the neutral color range.
“The green trend was already making waves in EMEA a few years ago. Different shades have been featured in our Automotive Color Trends collection, hinting at the huge variety of shades we see fitting to this movement today,” said Florina Trost, head of Design EMEA at BASF Coatings.
Americas: Chroma comeback with individual nuances but green in the lead
In the American automotive color world, 2025 presents a mixed picture: gray is slightly below its 2024 level but still well above 2023. Silver is gaining importance again, while white continues to decline. The share of colored car paints has risen by almost two percentage points, showing a stronger preference for expressive colors. While red and blue have historically led in the Americas, shades like green, beige, brown, and violet are now gaining momentum, highlighting a shift toward nature-inspired and diverse aesthetics.
“In 2021, brown and beige have been key colors of our trend collection. The sales now validate these early predictions and illustrate, how long-term trends continue to shape the market,” said Mark Gutjahr, global head of Automotive Color Design at BASF Coatings.
Asia Pacific: Gray strengthens as green expands its horizon
In 2025, the Asian Pacific region continues to lean toward achromatic dominance, with gray showing a clear upward trend, while white declines. Black and silver remain stable, reinforcing the enduring appeal of classic neutrals.
Green is steadily gaining popularity among chromatic colors, while blue has dipped slightly. Green’s range now spans from light, fresh tones to more traditional, natural shades, reflecting a shift toward sustainable and renewal-focused palettes. Though the overall share of chromatic colors has decreased, the variety of hues still demonstrates the preference for individuality in Asia Pacific.
“In our past trend forecast, we have introduced a solid-like gray with subtle color interference and highlighted an urban nuance green for adaptability. Today, gray strengthens while green expands across the region,” said Chiharu Matsuhara, head of Automotive Color Design for Asia Pacific.
The Color Report for Automotive OEM Coatings by BASF Coatings offers an in-depth exploration of color distribution in the automotive industry, analyzing preferences on both global and regional levels. The data referred to in the report was calculated by BASF Coatings on the basis of the available information regarding global automotive production and paint application to passenger cars. Together with the annual trend forecast, Automotive Color Trends®, the report complements BASF Coatings’ expertise in color and design.
