PPG Report Shows Two-tone Finishes, Personalization Gaining Favor Among Car Buyers

Rhea-AI Summary

PPG has released its 2021 automotive color report, noting a surge in demand for two-tone finishes and personalized colors among car buyers. The report reveals advances in color science and application technologies are vital for meeting these trends sustainably. PPG's innovative methods can reduce paint application time by 50 minutes per vehicle, significantly lowering carbon emissions. Key color trends highlight continued popularity for whites and blacks, with greens emerging as a strong choice linked to sustainability.

Positive

• Increased demand for two-tone finishes and personalized colors reflects changing consumer preferences.
• PPG's precision application process can reduce paint shop application time by approximately 50 minutes per two-tone vehicle.
• Advancements in color science enable faster market readiness for new colors.

Negative

• Demand for red vehicle colors dropped to 7%, indicating a shift in consumer preferences.
• Traditional color application processes remain labor-intensive and could impede broader adoption of two-tone finishes.

Company’s 2021 automotive color report highlights emerging trends influenced by societal changes, holistic color styling, sustainable application technologies

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PPG (NYSE:PPG) today released its 2021 automotive color popularity report, which highlights increased demand for two-tone finishes, personalized colors and other emerging trends among car buyers.

PPG releases its 2021 automotive color report, which highlights emerging trends influenced by societal changes, holistic color styling and sustainable application technologies. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The rise of two-tone finishes reflects consumers’ desire for personalization. Considerable progress in color science and application technologies provide an opportunity to bring these styling choices to the masses in a more practical and sustainable manner.

“It’s fitting that two-tone finishes would come back into favor during this time when we as a society are looking to the past,” said Misty Yeomans, PPG color styling manager, automotive OEM, Americas. “Along with special-order colors, tinted clearcoats, tri-coats and matte finishes, two-tone finishes better reflect vehicle owners’ individual preferences and personalities.”

Although two-tone finishes were common in the 1950s and 1960s, conventional color development and application processes made them increasingly impractical in mass production environments. The traditional process for achieving a two-tone finish requires labor-intensive masking of the vehicle body and multiple runs through the paint shop. PPG has helped global OEMs overcome this challenge through a breakthrough application technology that produces crisp paint edges without the use of masking and other time-intensive steps.

PPG’s precision application process can reduce paint shop application time by approximately 50 minutes per two-tone vehicle. It supports customer sustainability goals by reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and eliminating the need for energy-intensive air-filtering systems to handle overspray. Color personalization is also enabled through PPG advancements in digital color styling, which dramatically reduces the time to market for new colors.

Other trends highlighted in the PPG report are rising popularity of grays, blues, greens and violets, with vibrant new colors more likely to debut on sporty models rather than SUVs and pickups.

Green, with its connection to nature, sustainability and inclusiveness, remains strong worldwide. This will continue to be an important color space for the automotive industry.

“Green is also seen as a ’traffic light’ color, acting as a signal for everyone to go forward – it's safe and we can trust this color,” Yeomans said. “Green has two directions. One is sporty, fresh and vivid. The other is organic and darker, with deeper tones developed or designed as dark luxury greens yet still with a sporty and fresh attitude.”

From a global perspective, white (35% of vehicle builds) and black (18%) continue to be the predominant choices of car buyers, while demand for grays has increased 2% in each of the past two years. Blues remain strong at 8%, while reds dropped to 7% of builds. This was led by a 1.5% drop among North American consumers.

PPG also sees increased emphasis on taking a holistic approach to vehicle styling.

“We consider all surfaces and features of the vehicle as part of our color styling process,” said Yeomans. “As one example, we’re seeing increased use of specialized wheel coatings and colors to complement the styling cues of the vehicle body.”

PPG's unique position as a global color leader enables the company to observe and translate emerging color trends for customers' applications – from consumer goods to automotive color and residential to commercial and industrial design. Using this fact-based approach, PPG color experts help customers generate color ideas based on cultural and demographic trends. The resulting color technologies coat a wide range of materials and surfaces, shorten development cycles and bring more desirable and better-looking products to market faster.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For more information on PPG’s automotive color report, visit www.news.ppg.com/2021automotivecolor. For information on PPG’s report of color trends in architectural coatings, visit www.news.ppg.com/2022colortrends.

PPG: WE PROTECT AND BEAUTIFY THE WORLD™

At PPG (NYSE:PPG), we work every day to develop and deliver the paints, coatings and materials that our customers have trusted for nearly 140 years. Through dedication and creativity, we solve our customers’ biggest challenges, collaborating closely to find the right path forward. With headquarters in Pittsburgh, we operate and innovate in more than 75 countries and reported net sales of $16.8 billion in 2021. We serve customers in construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets and aftermarkets. To learn more, visit www.ppg.com.

We protect and beautify the world is a trademark and the PPG Logo is a registered trademark of PPG Industries Ohio, Inc.

CATEGORY Automotive OEM Coatings

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220216005108/en/

PPG Media Contact:

Keith Rigby

Automotive Communications

+1-724-678-1453

krigby@ppg.com

Source: PPG

FAQ

What trends did PPG highlight in its 2021 automotive color report?

PPG's report indicates a rise in two-tone finishes and personalized colors, with a notable increase in the popularity of grays, blues, greens, and violets.

How does PPG's application technology benefit manufacturers?

PPG's application technology can reduce paint shop application time by about 50 minutes per two-tone vehicle, supporting sustainability and efficiency.

What colors are currently most popular among car buyers according to PPG?

White and black remain the predominant choices, while green is gaining traction for its associations with nature and sustainability.

What impact does PPG's automotive color report have on the market?

The report signals shifting consumer preferences toward more personalized color options, potentially influencing OEM color offerings and production strategies.