UK car colour statistics · updated daily
The most popular car colours in the UK
From the DVLA colour of 741,943 UK-registered vehicles: which colours lead, how the fashion has changed since 2000, and what each make and fuel type is usually painted.
Car colours ranked
Share of all 741,943 vehicles, by DVLA colour.
- Grey20.6%
- White20.5%
- Black19.0%
- Blue15.4%
- Silver9.5%
- Red8.7%
- Green1.9%
- Orange1.3%
- Yellow0.9%
- Brown0.5%
- Beige0.4%
- Bronze0.4%
- Purple0.3%
- Gold0.2%
How car colour fashion has changed
Silver ruled the 2000s; grey has led since 2014, and black and white have held steady.
Share of cars built each year, same scale in every panel (0–30%). Hover or tap to read a year. *2026 so far.
Most popular colour by make
The 20 most common makes in our data. Hover a colour to read its share.
- Grey
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Silver
- Red
- Green
- Orange
- Other
Petrol, diesel, hybrid or electric
Diesel is the only fuel where white leads — that is the van effect. Electric cars skew grey and white.
- Grey
- White
- Black
- Blue
- Silver
- Red
- Green
- Orange
- Other
The rarest colours — and who paints them
Peugeot 21% · Kia 12% · Volkswagen 9%
Vauxhall 17% · Kia 16% · Land Rover 11%
Citroën 28% · Toyota 16% · Renault 10%
Toyota 30% · Peugeot 21% · Hyundai 10%
Citroën 18% · Peugeot 15% · Toyota 11%
Volvo 9% · Ford 9% · Land Rover 9%
Hyundai 66% · Volkswagen 14% · Toyota 3%
Alexander Dennis 17% · Volvo 10% · BYD 9%
Know the colour — now get the exact shade
DVLA says “grey”; the paint shop needs the factory code. Enter your registration.
Car colour statistics — questions
What is the most popular car colour in the UK?
Grey: 20.6% of the 741,943 vehicles in our data, followed by White (20.5%) and Black (19.0%).
When did grey overtake silver?
Grey has outnumbered silver among new cars every year since 2014. Silver was 24% of cars built in 2000 and 6% of those built in 2025.
Why are so many vans white?
White is the top colour for diesels (28%), because most vans are white: it is cheap to buy, easy to sign-write and simple to match after a repair.
Does this tell me my car’s paint code?
No — DVLA records only the colour family. Your factory paint code (the shade) is on the label on the car; enter your registration to find it.
View the data as a table
| Colour | Vehicles | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grey | 152,838 | 20.60% |
| White | 152,455 | 20.55% |
| Black | 140,896 | 18.99% |
| Blue | 114,024 | 15.37% |
| Silver | 70,184 | 9.46% |
| Red | 64,548 | 8.70% |
| Green | 14,064 | 1.90% |
| Orange | 9,885 | 1.33% |
| Yellow | 6,341 | 0.85% |
| Brown | 3,428 | 0.46% |
| Beige | 2,971 | 0.40% |
| Bronze | 2,968 | 0.40% |
| Purple | 2,491 | 0.34% |
| Gold | 1,283 | 0.17% |
| Turquoise | 1,042 | 0.14% |
| Multi-Colour | 987 | 0.13% |
| Maroon | 649 | 0.09% |
| Cream | 572 | 0.08% |
| Pink | 191 | 0.03% |
| Not Stated | 126 | 0.02% |
Method: the DVLA-recorded colour of 741,943 UK-registered vehicles in our database — cars people have looked up, so it reflects the used-car market rather than a census of every car on the road. DVLA records a colour family, not the factory shade. Years are year of manufacture. Updated 26 September 2026. Free to quote with a link to this page. See also paint codes by make.