Short answer
Green is rising and red is falling in every car series that reports them: green stands at its series high in all 5 and red at its series low in all 5. Blue depends on who is counting. The neutral total is rising in Germany and in the global supplier reports, flat in the United Kingdom and falling in the newest Dutch cohorts. These are observed figures from 6 series. Forecasters' colour-of-the-year choices are tabulated separately and predict none of it.
Green is the only chromatic colour gaining in all five car series. Germany's registrations have it at 1.1% in 2014 and 2.6% in 2023; the UK's at 1.9% in 2022 and 4.9% in 2025; the Dutch register at a low of 0.5% for 2013 cars and 7.6% for 2025 cars. Both global supplier series show 1.0% becoming 3.0%. Different countries, methods and category schemes agreeing on direction is as strong as this kind of evidence gets. The size is still small: between 2.6% and 7.6% of cars in the latest year of each series. No registry says which greens are meant; the UK release notes only that green battery-electric registrations almost doubled in 2025.
Red is at its lowest point in all five series. In the UK it fell from 8.5% to 5.8% in four years, and the trade body describes the 2025 figure as its lowest share since detailed records began. Germany's registrations peaked at 7.2% in 2019 and reached 5.1% in 2023; the Dutch cohorts peaked at 6.9% for 2017 cars and stand at 3.9%. Globally the DuPont/Axalta series has red at 8.0% in 2009 and 3.0% in 2025. Nothing in the observed data supports a red recovery. In the UK, green's gain of 3.0 points over the four years is about the size of red's loss of 2.7: the chromatic share was rearranged, not enlarged.
Blue is the largest chromatic colour in every series and the least consistent. The global supplier reports show it shrinking, from 9.0% to 6.0% in BASF's figures between 2019 and 2025. The registries of three north-west European countries show something else: Germany rose to 10.9% in 2019 and eased to 9.6%, the Dutch cohorts moved between 9.7% and 13.6%, and the UK sits near 15.2%, more than twice the global figure. That is a regional difference the global number hides. There is no single blue trend to report.
The neutral total rose in Germany, from 74.6% to 78.8%, and in BASF's global figures, from 78.0% to 83.0%. It moved within 2.1 points in the UK. In the Dutch cohorts it fell from 77.7% for 2023 cars to 73.1% for 2025 cars, the only car series at its low. Brown and beige, the nearest thing to a 'warm neutral' any source publishes, are at their lows or flat where they are counted at all. Outside cars, the one measured series points the other way: near-neutral parts in LEGO sets fell from 65.3% in 2007 to 48.8%. That figure is a chroma share and is shown beside the car figures only to mark the contrast in direction.
Colour-of-the-year announcements are choices made by forecasters and paint brands a year ahead, mostly for interiors and fashion. Of the 30 announcements Colourwise has recorded for 2022–2028, the most frequent family is blue with 7, and the trends dataset records independently observed adoption for 0 of them. They are listed here so the two kinds of statement can be seen apart. A forecast of green for living rooms and a rise of green in car registrations are unrelated facts that happen to share a word; neither is evidence for the other.
| Family | Category and place | Series and years | Kind of count | First → latest | High / low (year) | Latest stands | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green | Cars, Germany | KBA registrations, 2014–2023 (10 points) | Registration census | 1.1 → 2.6 | 2.6 (2023) / 1.1 (2019) | at its series high | Observed: share of named colours |
| Green | Cars, United Kingdom | SMMT registrations, 2022–2025 (4 points) | Registration census | 1.9 → 4.9 | 4.9 (2025) / 1.9 (2022) | at its series high | Observed: share of named colours |
| Green | Cars, Netherlands | RDW register (survivors), 2010–2025 (16 points) | Surviving-fleet register | 1.4 → 7.6 | 7.6 (2025) / 0.5 (2013) | at its series high | Observed: share of named colours |
| Green | Cars, Global | DuPont / Axalta reports, 2009–2025 (8 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 1.0 → 3.0 | 3.0 (2025) / 1.0 (2009) | at its series high | Observed: share of named colours |
| Green | Cars, Global | BASF reports, 2019–2025 (5 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 1.0 → 3.0 | 3.0 (2025) / 1.0 (2019) | at its series high | Observed: share of named colours |
| Blue | Cars, Germany | KBA registrations, 2014–2023 (10 points) | Registration census | 8.7 → 9.6 | 10.9 (2019) / 8.7 (2014) | between its high and low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Blue | Cars, United Kingdom | SMMT registrations, 2022–2025 (4 points) | Registration census | 16.0 → 15.2 | 16.0 (2022) / 14.9 (2024) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Blue | Cars, Netherlands | RDW register (survivors), 2010–2025 (16 points) | Surviving-fleet register | 12.7 → 12.2 | 13.6 (2020) / 9.7 (2013) | between its high and low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Blue | Cars, Global | DuPont / Axalta reports, 2009–2025 (8 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 9.0 → 6.0 | 9.0 (2009) / 5.0 (2010) | between its high and low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Blue | Cars, Global | BASF reports, 2019–2025 (5 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 9.0 → 6.0 | 9.0 (2019) / 6.0 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Red | Cars, Germany | KBA registrations, 2014–2023 (10 points) | Registration census | 6.0 → 5.1 | 7.2 (2019) / 5.1 (2023) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Red | Cars, United Kingdom | SMMT registrations, 2022–2025 (4 points) | Registration census | 8.5 → 5.8 | 8.5 (2022) / 5.8 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Red | Cars, Netherlands | RDW register (survivors), 2010–2025 (16 points) | Surviving-fleet register | 5.5 → 3.9 | 6.9 (2017) / 3.9 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Red | Cars, Global | DuPont / Axalta reports, 2009–2025 (8 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 8.0 → 3.0 | 8.0 (2009) / 3.0 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Red | Cars, Global | BASF reports, 2019–2025 (5 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 7.0 → 3.0 | 7.0 (2019) / 3.0 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Brown, beige and other warm neutrals | Cars, Netherlands | RDW register (survivors), 2010–2025 (16 points) | Surviving-fleet register | 4.8 → 1.2 | 6.0 (2013) / 0.7 (2021) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Brown, beige and other warm neutrals | Cars, Global | DuPont / Axalta reports, 2009–2025 (7 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 4.0 → 2.0 | 6.0 (2012) / 2.0 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Brown, beige and other warm neutrals | Cars, Global | BASF reports, 2019–2025 (5 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 3.0 → 3.0 | 3.0 (2019) / 2.0 (2022) | flat (range of a point or less) | Observed: share of named colours |
| Neutral total | Cars, Germany | KBA registrations, 2014–2023 (10 points) | Registration census | 74.6 → 78.8 | 78.8 (2023) / 74.6 (2014) | at its series high | Observed: share of named colours |
| Neutral total | Cars, United Kingdom | SMMT registrations, 2022–2025 (4 points) | Registration census | 68.6 → 70.0 | 70.7 (2024) / 68.6 (2022) | between its high and low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Neutral total | Cars, Netherlands | RDW register (survivors), 2010–2025 (16 points) | Surviving-fleet register | 73.8 → 73.1 | 77.7 (2023) / 73.1 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Neutral total | Cars, Global | DuPont / Axalta reports, 2009–2025 (9 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 77.0 → 81.0 | 84.0 (2024) / 76.0 (2012) | between its high and low | Observed: share of named colours |
| Neutral total | Cars, Global | BASF reports, 2019–2025 (5 points) | Paint-supplier estimate | 78.0 → 83.0 | 83.0 (2025) / 77.0 (2021) | at its series high | Observed: share of named colours |
| Neutral total | Toys (LEGO set inventories), LEGO products worldwide | Rebrickable catalogue, 2000–2025 (8 points) | Catalogue inventory | 54.7 → 48.8 | 65.3 (2007) / 48.8 (2025) | at its series low | Observed: chroma share |
| Family announced | Announcements | Announced by | With observed adoption recorded | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| blue | 7 of 30 | AkzoNobel (Dulux) ColourFutures; Sherwin-Williams; Benjamin Moore; WGSN with Coloro; Valspar | 0 | Forecast |
| brown | 4 of 30 | Pantone Color Institute; Benjamin Moore; WGSN with Coloro | 0 | Forecast |
| green | 4 of 30 | AkzoNobel (Dulux) ColourFutures; Sherwin-Williams; Benjamin Moore | 0 | Forecast |
| purple | 4 of 30 | Pantone Color Institute; WGSN with Coloro | 0 | Forecast |
| orange | 2 of 30 | Pantone Color Institute; WGSN with Coloro | 0 | Forecast |
| pink | 2 of 30 | AkzoNobel (Dulux) ColourFutures; Sherwin-Williams | 0 | Forecast |
| red | 2 of 30 | Pantone Color Institute; Benjamin Moore | 0 | Forecast |
| yellow | 2 of 30 | AkzoNobel (Dulux) ColourFutures | 0 | Forecast |
| multi | 1 of 30 | Sherwin-Williams | 0 | Forecast |
| neutral | 1 of 30 | Sherwin-Williams | 0 | Forecast |
| white | 1 of 30 | Pantone Color Institute | 0 | Forecast |
Each statement is labelled by kind — established fact, a standard’s requirement, observed market data, a convention, or Colourwise’s own interpretation or analysis — with the strength of the evidence behind it.
Colourwise analysisStrong evidence
Green's share is at the highest value of the series in all 5 car-colour series Colourwise holds that report it: German and UK registrations, the Dutch register, and the DuPont/Axalta and BASF global reports.
Based on: For each series, the latest green share compared with the highest and lowest green share in that series; 'at the series high' means within half a point of it, in a series whose range exceeds one point.
Caveat: Five series of different kinds, never combined; green remains between about 2.6% and 7.6% depending on the source, and the latest years differ (2023 to 2025).
Source: Neuzulassungen von Personenkraftwagen in den Jahren 2014 bis 2023 nach ausgewählten Farben; Grey in the fast lane as green powers up in Britain's top new car colours; Open Data RDW: Gekentekende_voertuigen (registered vehicles); 2025 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report (73rd report); BASF Color Report 2025 for Automotive OEM Coatings
Observed market dataModerate evidence· United Kingdom· 2024–2025
SMMT reports 99,793 green new cars registered in the United Kingdom in 2025, 4.94% of the market, up from 68,230 (3.49%) in 2024, and red at 5.77%.
Measured: All new cars registered in the calendar year.
Caveat: One country and two years; the release gives no definition of green, which includes dark and grey-green shades.
Source: Grey in the fast lane as green powers up in Britain's top new car colours
Colourwise analysisStrong evidence
Red's share is at the lowest value of the series in all 5 car-colour series that report it.
Based on: For each series, the latest red share compared with that series' own range, by the same rule as the green finding.
Caveat: Describes new cars in the latest year of each series, not the cars on the road.
Source: Neuzulassungen von Personenkraftwagen in den Jahren 2014 bis 2023 nach ausgewählten Farben; Grey in the fast lane as green powers up in Britain's top new car colours; Open Data RDW: Gekentekende_voertuigen (registered vehicles); 2025 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report (73rd report); BASF Color Report 2025 for Automotive OEM Coatings
ForecastModerate evidence· 2022–2028
Of 30 colour-of-the-year announcements recorded for 2022–2028, 4 are in the green family and 7 in the blue family.
Caveat: A count of what forecasters and paint brands announced, by Colourwise's own family reading of each colour. It measures no purchase and no product.
Source: Celebrating 20 years of Colour of the Year; AkzoNobel's 2026 Colors of the Year will get your mojo working; Sherwin-Williams reveals 2024 Color of the Year, Upward SW 6239; Benjamin Moore news and press releases
Colourwise interpretationLimited evidence
No observed series exists for a return of pastels or for warm neutrals replacing grey, so neither is given a row in the signals table.
Based on: No categorical source Colourwise holds has a pastel category or separates warm from cool neutrals, and the one measured palette cannot distinguish pastels from tans by lightness and chroma alone.
Caveat: An absence of data, not evidence that these shifts are not happening.
Reviewed 6 October 2026. Colourwise summarises its sources in its own words and does not reproduce standards text or proprietary colour data. Spotted an error? Tell us.