Europe’s most popular car colours revealed

Coatings specialist BASF reveals 2016’s most sought after colours within Europe’s new car market

Whereas high-end luxury marques such as Rolls-Royce kick started colour personalisation, now more mainstream brands have begun offering greater choice

Europe’s leading coatings specialist BASF reveals white as the most popular car colour whilst customers’ demand for individuality leads to more colour choice.

 

The ‘BASF European Colour Report for Automotive OEM Coatings’ shows that white is the most popular colour in the region’s new car market with a 29 per cent market share. This is followed by black with 19 per cent and grey with 18 per cent. These colours, part of the achromatic colour range, make up 80 per cent of automotive sales. Colours that make up the chromatic colour range include blue which took a 10 percent market share followed by red and brown. Beige is the least popular colour at 1 per cent.

The report highlights the majority of small cars including city cars and superminis are finished in white or chromatic hues. With larger cars, including the growing demand for SUVs, grey is found to be the most popular colour choice.

Colour diversity has also risen as car manufacturers have added to their existing range of colours by mixing different effect particles to create more pearlescent and metallic finishes. Blue is the most diverse colour with over 100 different variations followed by grey with 90 different choices.

Stefan Sickert, head of Project Management Basecoat explains; “This wide range of possibilities for car colours also goes hand in hand with the social megatrend toward individualization. Nowadays, end customers are able to select unique, personalized colours for their cars”.

Last year BASF’s coatings division achieved global sales of €3.2 billion

 

 

PSA Buys Opel/Vauxhall from GM Europe

The Viva; the first car to be manufactured at Vauxhall's plant in Ellesmere Port 

Well this was news that took me rather by surprise!
Although PSA and General Motors have been working on joint ventures for a few years now, (the first fruits of which will be hitting showrooms shortly in the shape of the Vauxhall/Opel Crossland X), I wasn't expecting a deal to be struck that will see PSA buy General Motors (GM's) European operations. After all, it was only a few years back when GM were seriously considering buying out the PSA Group; custodians of the Peugeot, Citroen and DS brands when they took a 7% stake. Ultimately, surely this is a prime example of how quickly things move on in the motor industry.
The tables have since very much turned. PSA were part bailed out by the French government and Chinese automaker Dongfeng a few years ago resulting in a far more efficient and revenue generating organisation following a bout of cost cutting and reorganisation implemented by head Carlos Tavares. Meanwhile, GM's European operations have continued to lose money. Indeed, the last full year Opel/Vauxhall made a profit for GM was back in 1999.
Why is this? Well, a lack of manufacturing efficiency is one reason. GM's European factories haven't been running at full capacity which effectively means less revenue is being made from each plant. Although sales of Opel/Vauxhall vehicles is respectable, (particularly in Britain under the Vauxhall brand), the demand Europe-wide hasn't been enough to increase the number of cars being built at each manufacturing plant.
Rather heavy discounting and less revenue per unit has been another long running problem at Opel/Vauxhall whilst expensive pension obligations and a lack of international demand outside of the European market have all contributed to General Motors decision to quit this market for good.
It's a momentous decision, (indeed Vauxhall has been part of GM since 1925). It will have big implications for the motor industry and certainly for Europe's automotive landscape and pecking order.
Last year, Vauxhall/Opel jointly sold approximately 1.0 million vehicles in Europe whilst PSA sold more at 1.5 million. Following this £1.9bn deal, PSA will be Europe's second largest automobile manufacturer, behind only the mighty Volkswagen Group.

Peugeot's Instinct concept, seen here at this year's Geneva motor show

It's clear why Carlos Tavares is keen to take control of Opel/Vauxhall. With GM Europe currently enjoying a fair market share, ownership will allow PSA to increase their footprint and enable greater economies of scale to take effect. As an example, future generations of Astra and Insignia will be able to be built of the same platforms as the next generation 308/508 model lines. With the high cost of research and development, (particularly with new powertrain and autonomous technologies around the corner), PSA will be able to make greater returns on investment with more units being produced sharing the same platforms and architecture. Hopefully for PSA, this will allow for greater profitability whilst cutting such development costs. I expect the French firm will also be very pleased to get their hands on GM's electric vehicle technology; an area where PSA have been lagging behind competition from the likes of Renault, Nissan and Hyundai.

PSA will benefit from technology used in the electric Opel Ampera E; a car based heavily on the American market Chevrolet Bolt 

Perhaps understandably, such a deal is already raising heavy concerns with many currently employed by Vauxhall/Opel. Cost cutting will almost certainly be necessary to trim the overcapacity crippling profitability at GM Europe. It isn't beyond the realms of possibility that in the medium term PSA may look to close some Opel/Vauxhall factories so as to better streamline manufacturing bases and increase production efficiency.
Although Vauxhall's plants at Luton and Ellesmere Port are reasonably efficient, there are many questions being raised about their future. Is the cost of manufacturing cars in the UK where the majority of parts come from a supply chain based more heavily in Europe mean that production moves abroad? What about concerns over Brexit? Will future Vauxhall/Opel Vivaro vans switch from Luton to France where they can share manufacturing capacity with the Peugeot Expert/Citroen Dispatch? Time will invariably tell; however, I expect that many Opel/Vauxhall factories and European governments will begin to lobby PSA in order to avoid the closure of their plants.

The last Peugeot to be produced at PSA's Ryton plant in Warwickshire

Unfortunately for Vauxhall, PSA have form when it comes to shutting down UK manufacturing bases. Peugeot closed down the British Rootes Group operations in the mid 1980's and more recently in 2006 closed the Ryton plant near Coventry; home to cars including the Peugeot 309, 405, 306 and 206. Ultimately times change and it'll be fascinating to see what happens over the next few years as the ramifications of this deal unfold...    

Times are Changing for Car Dealers...

Tesla store at Bluewater shopping centre, Kent

Happy New Year!!!
Whilst I was walking home from a bash in the early hours of New Year's Day, I began thinking how time seems to race along ever more quickly from one year to the next. It's frightening that this year will mark 15 years since I passed my driving test. I clearly remember the utter excitement of picking up my first car, a Peugeot 106 1.1 Independence from what was Clifford's Peugeot, just outside Gravesend.
The dealer was a small branch, an offshoot of a larger dealer based in Dartford; now part of the WJ King Group. I remember the layout; a small showroom with a few cars placed pretty much on top of each other, the odd sales exec's desk and the suspiciously plastic looking yucca plant catching dust in the corner. The service dept and workshop were in a separate building at the other end of a rather tight car park; a rather run-down affair with the de rigueur coffee machine and faded blue seating.
This is a far cry from the traditional mainstream car dealership today. Most are far more upmarket and welcoming places to spend time in; clean, smart, spacious and modern. A lot of the mainstream brands such as Vauxhall, Peugeot and Ford have clearly taken a leaf out of the corporate dealer look from marques such as BMW and Mercedes. Showroom cars are placed apart from each other creating a sense of space whilst a lounge area means customers can sit and relax. Crumpled brochures are now replaced by tablets where customers can freely spec their cars. I seem to remember Volkswagen being at the forefront of this new corporate look where regardless of the franchise, each site would have the same high-end design and layout.
The question now though is, are traditional car dealers heading towards extinction?
Think about it... For a start most aren't very accessible being based in out-of-town industrial estates. Potential purchasers will often make planned visits to their local branch after researching online whereas the average passer-by won't always have a clear view of the showroom products, let alone regularly stop and visit areas where such dealers are located.

Mini's latest eye-catching corporate dealer design. Inside, expect a youthful, funky image featuring televisions, tablets and a bar 

This has led to some car manufacturer's setting up dealers in places like shopping malls and city high streets where more people will see what's on offer and footfall will be greater. Hyundai's Rockar network is expanding at places like the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent whilst Tesla is also present in many large and well-to-do retail centres. Product specialist staff are on hand to discuss the cars in detail whilst touchscreens guide customers through the range. Even newly formed DS has opened their Urban Store at Westfield Shepherds Bush offering a boutique-like experience. Although franchises have occasionally set up temporary stands within shopping malls, these purpose built sites are targeting the Apple Store generation.
This brings me onto space. With manufacturer's ranges increasing into niches that nobody had ever thought of 10 years ago, (I'm looking at you Audi/BMW), how can an urban store with limited room inform visitors of a full model portfolio? Luckily, virtual reality headsets are coming on stream that allow customers to experience the cars as if they were physically there. Audi City London is an example where technology is bringing customers face-to-face with the cars in ever greater detail, despite space limitations.
And what about the business of buying your new car?
I predict dealerships will need to become ever more competitive in the services they provide thanks to the popularity of online car sales. Although manufacturers themselves are beginning to offer such services via their websites, (Hyundai, Smart and soon Peugeot are just some examples), car brokers and new car discount companies have been muscling in for years.

Some larger dealers even feature historic cars in their showrooms; this BMW Isetta adds a bit of heritage to the mix. (Would rather a 2002 Turbo though...) 

Thanks to less overheads and agreements with dealer franchise groups, sites such as New Car Discount, Broadspeed, Carwow and What Car? allow customers to choose and spec their cars in the comfort of their own home whilst getting discounts that would be very difficult to get if they were sitting in front of a sales exec at their local dealership. Not only can you choose everything from colour, trim level, engine, transmission and optional extras as if you were in a showroom, you still have the option of buying on finance, leasing or paying outright.
The discounts compared to the manufacturer's list price is the bit I get excited about though...and you don't even need to haggle. Indeed I took the plunge with my current car back in 2014 saving thousands. What's more, the process was so simple and efficient.
Don't think that the best deals are only on run-out special editions either. Great savings can be had on new-to-market models; whether they're from mainstream or premium brands.
Take the new Peugeot 3008 SUV on New Car Discount as an example. A car that's only just arriving in showrooms this month and garnering positive reviews from the motoring press can already be had with up to 22% off list price for a 1.2 GT Line. That's a saving of £5,842. Or how about over £16k off a BMW 650i Coupe? Try getting that at your local dealer...and no haggling necessary!
Times are changing for the traditional car dealership as they are for the car industry itself. Whether it's how you buy your new set of wheels to the dawn of the autonomous car, I expect things are set to progress quickly. Indeed, just like the passing of time...