Blue has officially become the UK’s third most popular car colour, marking the first time in 15 years that a non-grey or black shade has cracked the top three. Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reveals that around 15% of all new cars registered in 2024 were blue—about 300,000 vehicles. Although blue has always been a popular choice in the UK, it last made it into the top three back in 2010, finishing fourth in 2023.
Top 10 car colours in 2024
- Grey – 27.8%
- Black – 21.7%
- Blue – 14.9%
- White – 14.9%
- Red – 7%
- Silver – 6.3%
- Green – 3.5%
- Yellow – 0.6%
- Orange – 0.6%
- Bronze – 0.3%
Grey continues to dominate, holding the top spot for the seventh year in a row, with 28% of new cars sold in this shade. According to Craig Bridgman, Senior Valuations Editor at CAP HPI, grey’s popularity shows no signs of fading. “As a nation, we’re quite safe with the colours we choose. Grey is a fashionable colour – especially with some manufacturers, like Audi – and it does typically hold a little more value than something more unusual.”
Black took second place in 2024, making up nearly 22% of new car registrations, while white, which had been in the top three for years, slipped down as its popularity fell by 7%. Still, nearly two-thirds of new cars registered in the UK were either grey, black, or white.
SMMT Chairman Mike Hawes commented “While 2024 saw more new car buyers go green with a record number of electric cars reaching the road, the ‘face’ of the market remains familiar, with grey and black proving perennially popular.
He continued, “While manufacturers strive to ensure every driver can have their pick of a vast choice of paint colours and personalisation options to suit their individual tastes, it seems UK car buyers’ preferences remain steadfastly monochrome.”
When it comes to less common colours, Bridgman pointed out that unusual shades often hurt resale value. “Extremely bright colours – like a vivid yellow or pink” can make cars harder to sell,” he explained.
“If you had two identical cars – one grey and one brown – the former could sell within a few weeks, while the other could take a few months,” Bridgman continued.
“[Furthermore], if you had two mainstream used cars (circa £15,000) with one in grey and another in brown, the latter could suffer anything between £300-500 in terms of resale value.”
On a more positive note, green cars may be making a comeback. Though still accounting for only 3.5% of new registrations, green is more popular now than it has been in two decades, according to Bridgman. Despite past superstitions about green cars bringing bad luck, they seem to be slowly gaining favour again in the UK market.
