Favorite Car Color: White Dominates as World's Favorite Color

What's the favorite car color? It isn't silver anymore. White has replaced silver as world's favorite car color.

Silver held on as favorite for more than a decade but according to PPG Industries, the leading supplier of automotive paints, 25 percent of the vehicles it supplied this year were white which was a three percent increase from last year. Silver and black had a tie for second at 18 percent each, the Associated Press reports.

White is the top color in Europe, North America and Asia. South America is the only country where silver still dominates as top car color.

Apple products may have had something to do with the white craze as its stores and many of its gadgets are all white. Jane Harrington, PPG's manager of automotive color styling says the variety of shades of white have also made it a hot color.

However automakers are always trying to develop new colors for the 2016 and 2017 model years such as eye-catching options like a pink-tinged bright red developed in Asia and a rich dark gray with faint green highlights. Among some other colors at PPG's annual color show in Detroit was eleven shades of brown from light copper to dark chocolate, 11 shades of grey, six yellows and seven greens. Among the colors that were missing was powder blue, which is typically used on electric and hybrid cars.

Harrington and PPG develop color trends by paying attention to fashion, architectural paint colors and other items. She predicts that there will be more jewel tones like teal or earthy metallic like reddish orange in the near future. Part of the reason for the stand-out colors is that people don't mind showing off after the recession ended.

There could also be really bright colors like taxi yellow and others. Pastel colors like mint green and light pink are also at the show.

The color show will take to the road to places like Los Angeles, Europe and Asia and will then work with individual automakers. Car companies usually pick eight to 10 colors for every car model. PPG works with every major car company.

"They think about the vehicle and how that color will translate," Harrington told AP. "That color, sparkle and finish helps define the car's character."