Colour trends to expect in car design

Colour has always played a pivotal role in the development of new cars. It impacts how the model is perceived not only from the day it is revealed but also years – decades – down the line. Designers are tasked with balancing the need for longevity with the fickle nature of fashion that can quickly see decisions looking out-dated.

With this in mind, keeping on top of trends is vital but so is forecasting what is coming down the line. One of the companies that has been pivotal in leading this research is WGSN, which in tandem with sister company Coloro has been gathering data from across the globe to support designers in any field where colour is important. Spoiler alert: there are quite a few, automotive being one of them.

WGSN and Coloro recently hosted a livestream to share an update on the latest trend forecast and to release their Colour of the Year for 2024 and 2025. In essence, it is about helping designers figure out which colours they should add to their palette for upcoming projects, and working with them to ensure the chemical make-up of those colours are applicable for different projects. Colour of the Year 2026 will be coming soon, we’re told.

Colour of the Year for 2024 is Apricot Crush, a selection that resulted partly by tracking the rise of orange in wellness. “It really speaks to today’s consumers who seek light and positivity, and a colour that brings warmth to design,” says Urangoo Samba, Head of Colour at WGSN. “I haven’t seen it enter the mainstream just yet, but I expect to see it filtering across all industries in the coming months.”

Apricot Crush is described as having “a restorative quality that aligns to balancing lifestyles and nourishing body and mind… [Bringing] a warming luminosity to the home both indoors and out.” This shade of orange is said to be suitable for everything from textiles and glass to beauty products and consumer tech. We might also point you toward our annual yearbook, which for its tenth anniversary appears to be bang on on trend with regards to the front cover.

“We are already seeing this colour infuse all sectors,” says Reiko Morrison, head of CMF and Consumer Tech at WGSN, who spoke to CDN following the livestream. “It provides a fruity injection of energy and a warming luminosity to products. It pairs easily with neutrals as an accent so we expect to see it used in versatile ways within the automotive sector.”

Morrison flags the Ram 1500 EV concept, which features an Apricot Crush illuminated trim, as well as the Hyundai Seven concept which uses ”a soft illuminated Apricot Crush interior effect.” (Inicdentally, it also introduced lavendar shades that were flagged as 2023’s Colour of the Year.) Both models are shown above, along with the Changan S7’s orange interior.

Elsewhere, sneaker designer Sean Wotherspoon, famous for pairing mixed materials and colours, tried his hand at the Porsche Taycan for a one-off art car, “colour-blocked using a palette of Apricot Crush, blue and green, giving it an unexpectedly playful personality,” says Morrison.

Accountability should always be applauded, and the livestream also reflected on prior Colour of the Year trends to see how they played out. In 2023 it was Digital Lavender and an analysis of various catwalks found that it accounted for 63% of all purple shades being worn.

“At the beginning when we predicted this colour it was heavily embraced by the youth, and we saw the trend of pastels coming to the fore which also helped,” says Samba. “There was also the TV show Euphoria where digital tones were used for beauty, shimmer and creating a digital escapism. We also saw similar colours around the metaverse with soothing, calming colours to create a more atmospheric space. And then with mental health, we have been tracking ‘Digital Cosy’ which plays into Digital Lavender.”

Morrison notes that Digital Lavender has been an “extremely successful” colour in all sectors: “We first started tracking this colour in 2021 and have seen it gaining momentum in all sectors throughout the world. We saw it on the Bentley Bentayga EWB in an alluring diamond illumination on the door panels, and JIDU uses Digital Lavender for its Ji Yue branding.”

In general, she says, Chinese car brands tend toward using “brighter, more daring colours than other markets.” Consider the Avatr 12 Gran Coupe, for instance, which is perhaps a sign of the evolution toward 2025’s Colour of the Year (see later in this article).

“A prime illustration of the fusion of digital and physical domains is embodied in the Mercedes-Benz AVTR concept vehicle, drawing inspiration from James Cameron’s sci-fi fantasy film Avatar,” Morrison continues.

“This innovative car features a digital display and interior lighting that collaboratively craft an immersive Digital Lavender experience. The most memorable automotive example would be the Rolls-Royce Phantom Syntopia, designed in collaboration with Iris Van Herpen. On the exterior of the car, a colour-shifting signature Iris Van Herpen undulating pattern is seen with highlights of Digital Lavender. The car is also photographed with a dreamy background of Digital Lavender clouds and water reflections.”

The lavender trend can be seen elsewhere, too, but perhaps as an evolution. The new Porsche Macan was also recently revealed in a shade of lavender, and the pink-base Frozen Berry Metallic has also been used to promote the Taycan among other models. It is expected that an evolution of Digital Lavender will percolate through to 2024 and beyond.

“Digital Lavender was for 2023 but we still see it,” observes Samba. “In essence we look at colour and its longevity and evolution – there is the Digital Lavender which was predicted for SS23-AW24, but if we look at our global colour report for spring 2024, we have a colour called Gentle Lavender which is an evolution of Digital Lavender. Data has proven that it is still upticking in different industries – especially fashion – so we expect to see that continuing into this year too.”

For 2025, the Colour of the Year will be Future Dusk, which sits somewhere been a dark blue and a ‘mysterious’ purple.

Beyond aesthetics, this promises to be quite functional – feasible for various substrates and fibres. “It is a very well-behaved colour,” noted John Newton, head of colour technology at Coloro. “Not all colours are, that’s why we need to check them before sending them to supply chain. If we share colours that cannot be achieved with certain substrates they’ll struggle and the compromise will come later on.”

For example, this could influence the selection of certain materials and chemicals used to create the necessary dyes. If the colour is difficult to achieve without using hazardous chemicals or heavy metals, Newton says, it might mean that certain blues or shades of turquoise cannot be achieved and will be less bright. But by working on all this at the outset, compromises can be made from the start, avoiding any unexpected time or cost challenges down the line.

“Dye chemistries can be quite different,” he explains, “ so it is about choosing a colour that works from the outset, optimising recipes and even things like the reflection curve to remove some of those potential problems.”

Digging into the forecasting process in more detail, WGSN’s Samba explained that there is a network of experts across the world that gathers together for a global colour workshop. At a basic level, this identifies the key drivers that might influence consumer trends, and wider trends in society, technology, environment, politics and industry. Social media of course plays a key part in all that, too. At the same time, forecasters are always on the move visiting different global trade shows and design weeks.

“One of the biggest drivers for trends is Milan design week,” notes Samba, “and we’re so looking forward to attending April as we’ve covered that for many years. Graduate fashion shows are also very important, like Central Saint Martins, as it shows us how the younger generation is looking at design and really inspires us when it comes to tracking colour trends.”