Cutting-edge colours translate lifestyle trends

Vehicle body design, fuel economy and connected in-car technology are all big purchase influencers, but automotive colour can't be under estimated. PPG developed an innovate new red paint colour for Renault that completely disrupted the usual sales pattern - while red cars usually account for 3-5% of model sales, the Rouge Flamme saw a take rate of about 20%. Predicting which colours will sell, however, is no easy feat. Designers at the likes of PPG and BASF delve into wider societal developments to gain insight into future colour trends.