“We often hear about color popularity in terms of new car vehicle sales; however, we rarely hear about color popularity in terms of cars being repaired,” says Phil Matisak
Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes Marketing Manager - Global Color Publication. “While new car sales are important, what matters most to body shops and collision centers across North America are the cars that are being repaired.”
Matisak notes that in the past few years white, black and silver were reported to be the most popular car colors in the world by automotive OE manufacturers. The data compiled by Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes reveals the trend has lasted as North American consumers primarily continue to repair their cars with those same hues. In fact, all of the top five vehicles requiring paint repair, were of those shades: General Motors’ Olympic White scored the top rank for the third year in a row; with its 8555 Black coming in second; then Toyota/Lexus’ Classic Silver Metallic and Super White II in third and fourth respectively, and Ford’s Oxford White taking fifth. As a result, says Matisak, “Just as White, Black, and Silver dominate the North American sales market, these colors also dominate the collision market. However there is a lone chromatic color in the top 20 – Toyota’s Barcelona Red Mica, code 3R3 – coming in at number 19. It just goes to show that even on the "grayest" of days a little color will shine through!”
A chart of the top colors repaired is shown below:
2014 Top 20 OEM Colors Repaired
| Rank | Make | Color Code | Color Name |
| 1 | General Motors | 8624 | Olympic WHite |
| 2 | General Motors | 8555 | Black |
| 3 | Toyota/Lexus | 1F7 | Classic Silver Metallic |
| 4 | Toyota/Lexus | 040 | Super White II |
| 5 | Ford America | YZ | Oxford White |
| 6 | General Motors | 636R | Switchblade Silver Metallic |
| 7 | Toyota/Lexus | 1G3 | Magnetic Gray Metallic |
| 8 | Nissan/Infiniti | KH3 | Super Black |
| 9 | Honda/Acura | NH700M | Alabaster Silver Metallic |
| 10 | Chrysler | PW7 | Bright White |
| 11 | Chrysler | PXR | Brilliant Black Pearl |
| 12 | Ford America | UH | Tuxedo Black Metallic |
| 13 | Chrysler | PX8 | Black |
| 14 | Ford America | UX | Ingot Silver Metallic |
| 15 | Ford America | UA | Ebony |
| 16 | Toyota/Lexus | 202 | Black |
| 17 | Honda/Acura | NH731P | Crystal Black Pearl |
| 18 | Honda/Acura | NH737M | Polished Metal Metallic |
| 19 | Toyota/Lexus | 3R3 | Barcelona Red Mica |
| 20 | Nissan/Infiniti | K23 | Liquid Platinum Metallic |
For more information about Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, visit www.sherwin-automotive.com or call 1-800-SWULTRA (1-800-798-5872).
The Sherwin-Williams Company, founded in 1866, is one of the world's leading companies in the manufacture, distribution and sale of coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial and retail customers. Sherwin-Williams Automotive Finishes, a division of The Sherwin-Williams Company, manufactures and distributes a complete line of advanced technology paint and coating systems for automotive and fleet refinishing industries.
