New colour report suggests green was the colour of 2025

The 2025 BASF colour report has been released, revealing clear trends towards nature-inspired aesthetics and individuality.

Green has claimed top spot. This comes as little surprise, as numerous vehicles were launched in varying shades of green throughout 2025. From production cars including the refreshed Opel Astra, Aston Martin Vanquish Volante and Bugatti Brouillard, to concepts like the Chery Journeo, and Renault 4 Savane, the list goes on…

More unexpectedly, violet has worked its way up the rankings. Perhaps more lilac-toned dues like those adorning the Morgan Supersport will be appearing on future vehicles. The trend reflects some earlier forecasts: in 2024 WGSN and Coloro flagged a deep violet hue dubbed Future Dusk as the colour to look out for in 2025.

Beige is another hue gaining traction, aligning with the wider shift towards natural shades. The modified Defender Dakar D7X-R sports varying shades of bold, blocky beige tones while Lucid’s Gravity X features a satin-finish beige exterior. Exceed’s Tianji Vision concept, as shown at the 2025 Shanghai auto show, also appears in an earthy beige tone, and the Toyota Corolla Cross was displayed in a sandy beige shade at the Brussels motor show 2026. All this chimes well with Car Design News’ own CMF survey, which found that most industry respondents expected earthy tones to dominate in 2025. 

By contrast, blue and red are shades in decline, representing 6% and 3% of the total market share respectively. The power of these colours should not be underestimated though, just look at the visual impact of the Mazda6e drenched in a rich red-tone or the calming nature of the Dacia Hipster’s fog blue exterior. 

Within the achromatic palette, grey has grown in popularity, while both white and silver have declined. Grey cars can divide opinion (boring or classy?), but models such as the Xpeng P7+ or the Bentley Supersports Continental GT demonstrate how effectively those shades can be used (in this writers humble opinion). 

Overall, solid colours have shrunk to represent just 18% of the market. While there is something satisfying about a solid finish – such as the matte red exterior of the Jaguar Type 00 – pearlescent and chrome finishes add an additional layer of visual complexity to a vehicle’s exterior, bringing curves and creases to life. We saw this with the new Twingo and the DS Taylor Made concept, respectively, at the Brussels motor show. 

BASF’s report also breaks down colour popularity by region, with silver regaining strength in the Americas. Mark Gutjahr, global head of automotive colour design at BASF Coatings added: “In 2021, brown and beige have been key colours of our trend collection. The sales now validate these early predictions and illustrate, how long-term trends continue to shape the market.”

Green is also dominating in both EMEA and Asia Pacific, surpassing red in popularity. These green shades range from fresh to deeply natural shades – think sage green to deep olive. Chiharu Matsuhara, head of automotive colour design for Asia Pacific adds further insight: “In our past trend forecast, we have introduced a solid-like grey with subtle colour interference and highlighted an urban nuance green for adaptability. Today, grey strengthens while green expands across the region.”

For further analysis on CMF trends, click here to explore CDN’s coverage.