Forget silver and black - white is the new classy colour for cars

By Heiko Haupt Dec 27, 2006, 4:59 GMT

Wuppertal/Leverkusen - White cars used to be popular in Europe but for decades the colour has been just about the most undesirable shade on offer.

Now white might be acceptable for a basic delivery van, but motorists here prefer to pay a premium for a vehicle sprayed in a dazzling metallic hue like silver. For years white has been regarded as dull and unimaginative and even police forces stopped buying white cars because the resale value of them is so poor.

Of course, the heat-reflecting qualities of white paintwork have always been appreciated by drivers in hot countries, but now the colour is making a comeback on the European continent albeit for entirely different reasons.

It started at some of the recent big car shows when white cars suddenly cropped up at the stands. The number of white cars on Europe's roads has also increased and while this might surprise the layman, experts have noticed the trend for some time.

Until recently the sales outlook for white cars has been anything but bright, as figures show. The last time the colour could be regarded as popular was back in 1987 when 615,819 white cars were registered new in Germany, as figures show.

From then on it was downhill all the way. By 2000 the number had dropped to 141,749 and by 2005 only 71, 570 registrations were recorded. The first nine months of 2006 could not buck the trend either and until September only 37,378 motorists in Germany had taken delivery of a shiny new white car.

Suddenly this year the colour was back in fashion at the Paris Auto Salon and it did not take long before consumers started to follow suit. 'White is making a strong comeback,' said automotive expert professor Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer of the trend scout company B&D Forecast in Leverkusen. 'This is a revolution really. White has been undesirable for years - and now it's becoming hip again.'

It's worth noting that this is a trickle-down trend. White used to be acceptable for budget cars but now the impetus is coming from the pinnacle of the motoring world. A snow-white Maybach was recently subjected to the glare of the spotlights at one auto show.

At present white appeals to customers looking for something special. 'In the case of sporting models such as the S3, white is really coming on strong,' said Audi spokesman Udo Ruegheimer in Ingolstadt. A growing number of clients have been showing interest in buying a white A3 Sportback or TT-Coupé, the company says.

Ruegheimer detects a number of reasons for the change in colour preference. For one thing, white bodywork can look very smart with extras such as a hardtop fitted with smoked glass. Many people simply want something which looks different. 'White is actually a very upbeat shade and it definitely stands out from the rest,' said Ruegheimer.

Audi says sales of white cars only account at present for around 1 per cent overall yet according to colour creator Mark Gutjahr at BASF Coastings in Wuppertal, 'white is destined to become the third most important car colour after black and silver'.

The colour will initially appear on expensive and exclusive models before finding broader appeal, predicts Gutjahr. He says the trend has been discernable in other sectors for some time. Products such as Apple's iPod MP 3 player have paved the way by creating an acceptance of white surfaces previously regarded as cold and technical.

'The overall development is much more complex than that and even things like politics and the economy play a role,' said the expert. A wave of white cars is not just around the corner since customer tastes tend to alter very slowly,' said Gutjahr. 'The dealers must be considered too,' he added. At the moment they tend to play safe when ordering demonstration models and will still prefer to showcase a silver rather than a white car.

When white finally hits the big time the colour will have long shrugged off its dowdy image as a plain livery for vans. 'We'll have white in all sorts of hues, from standard to ones with special effects' said Gutjahr.

The specialty paint finishes are designed to enhance white by giving it a pearlescent effect or even a hint of gold. The latter points to progress in developing new paint finishes. 'We shall see colours which are very difficult to categorise,' said the coatings expert.