BASF Color Report: Green and Grey Redefine Automotive Colors in 2025

BASF's 2025 Color Report reveals a shift in automotive color preferences away from traditional choices toward individualism and nature-inspired green and grey tones.

In 2025, the global automotive color landscape reflects a clear shift toward individualism and nature-inspired aesthetic approaches as consumers move away from traditional favorites. According to BASF Coatings' latest Automotive OEM Coatings Color Report analysis, green emerges as the chromatic color showing the strongest growth worldwide; maintaining steady increases and entering the top three led by blue and red. Both historically dominant colors are declining year-over-year. Blue loses one point, while red experiences a sharper decline, accounting for only three percent of total market share. This development demonstrates an explicit withdrawal from classical chromatic norms.

Grey strengthens its position as a modern and elegant choice with a notable two-point increase. White shows a slight decline, while black maintains its strength but with reduced presence in solid finishes; solid colors have fallen to just 18 percent of total market share. This development reflects a global trend combining timeless elegance with high color diversity and underscores green's leadership in the shift toward a more individualized and sustainable color palette.

EMEA: From silver to green – a new chapter in automotive colors
The upward trend of green continues in the EMEA region. Green has moved past red to become an indicator of individualism and sophistication. As silver loses importance, black and grey strengthen their positions within the achromatic palette. White shows a slight decline while adding more nuance to the neutral color range.

BASF Coatings EMEA Head of Design Florina Trost stated: "The green trend began making waves in EMEA a few years ago. Different tones were already featured in our Automotive Color Trends collection, signaling the broad color diversity we see aligning with this movement today."

Americas: Chromatic rebound with individual nuances, but green remains the leader
The automotive color world in the Americas presents a mixed picture in 2025: grey remains slightly below 2024 levels but still well above 2023 figures. Silver is regaining importance while white continues its decline. The share of colored automotive paints has increased by approximately two points, reflecting growing preference for more expressive colors. Historically led by red and blue in the Americas, today green, beige, brown and purple tones are gaining momentum, underscoring a shift toward nature-inspired and diversity-focused aesthetics.
"In 2021, brown and beige were key colors in our trend collection. Today's sales confirm these early forecasts and demonstrate how long-term trends continue to shape the market," says Mark Gutjahr, Head of Global Automotive Color Design at BASF Coatings.

Asia Pacific: Green expands horizons while grey strengthens
In 2025, the Asia Pacific region continues to maintain its achromatic emphasis, with white declining and grey showing a distinct upward trend. Black and silver maintain their stability, reinforcing the enduring appeal of classical neutrals.

Among chromatic colors, green steadily gains popularity while blue shows a slight decline. The spectrum of green now ranges from bright and airy tones to more traditional, natural ones; reflecting a shift toward sustainability and renewal-focused palettes. Although the total share of chromatic colors has declined, color diversity in Asia Pacific continues to demonstrate preference for individualism.

BASF Coatings Asia Pacific Head of Automotive Color Design Chiharu Matsuhara stated: "In past trend forecasts, we introduced a solid-like grey with subtle color effects and highlighted an urban green nuance for adaptability. Today, as grey strengthens, green is expanding its presence throughout the region."

The Automotive OEM Coatings Color Report prepared by BASF Coatings provides an in-depth analysis of color distribution in the automotive industry, examining preferences at global and regional levels. The data in the report is based on current information held by BASF Coatings regarding global automotive production and paint applications in passenger vehicles. The annual trend forecast, together with this report, completes BASF Coatings' expertise in color and design.

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