SA’s most popular sedan, station wagon and ute colours revealed in analysis of registration data

We’ve come a long way since Henry Ford decreed customers could have any car colour they wanted “so long as it’s black”. Or have we? These are SA’s most and least popular colours.

If New Zealand is the Land of the Long White Cloud, SA is the home of the sensible white car.

An Advertiser analysis of registrations data has revealed South Aussie drivers clearly believe that when it comes to the colour of their car, white is all right.

The analysis of SA Transport Department figures shows white has been the most common sedan colour every year between 2017 and 2022, with an average 158,000 registered annually.

There were 158,860 white sedans registered to the end of June 2022, down just 0.02% on the number registered in 2017, however white comfortably remained the most registered colour in SA ahead of silver and blue.

The data also includes government registered vehicles, including police cars.

Silver and blue sedan registrations also fell in 2022 compared to 2017 but remained the second and third most popular choices every year between 2017-2022.

Tap the arrow bottom left to start the data animation.

Grey sedans were a big mover with registrations increasing from 65,933 in 2017 to 72,564 in 2022, an increase of 10%. Red sedan registrations decreased by about the same amount.

And sorry, khaki lovers. The army staple has been among the least popular sedan colours in SA since 2017, with just 239 registrations across the six years.

Excluding cars featuring artwork, khaki was the least popular colour between 2017-2020 and the second least popular in 2021 and 2022, when tan saw the fewest registrations.

White has also been the most-registered colour for station wagons - the second biggest registration group behind sedans - every year since 2017, followed by silver, grey, black and blue. Registrations for all top five colours increased between 2017-2022.

Again, grey saw the biggest percentage change among the top five, rising from 45,225 vehicles in 2017 to 75, 227 vehicles in 2022, an increase of 66 per cent.

But the biggest increase, in real terms, was for white station wagons with 51,159 more vehicles registered in 2022 than were registered in 2017.

Excluding cars featuring artwork, tan was the least popular station wagon colour in 2017 and 2018, but pink has been the least popular choice annually since 2019.

Overwhelmingly, white has also been the most common van colour in SA since 2017 with an average of about 25,000 registered every year, ahead of silver, which saw an average 1100 vehicles registered per year.

Red was the third most popular van colour between 2017-2019 but was overtaken by grey which has been the third most popular choice since 2020.

White, silver and grey dominated ute colours across the six years, followed by black, then blue.

All the top colours saw an increase in registrations since 2017 with grey the biggest among the top five, increasing by 81% from 11,702 vehicles in 2017 to 21,183 in 2022.

If you thought most hearses were black, think again.

Silver was the most common colour between 2017-2022 with 317 vehicles registered across the six year period, followed by black (116), then white (95).

Senior Manager of Safety and Infrastructure at the RAA Charles Mountain said white was often a popular colour choice, particularly for fleet purchases, because the cars were easier to repair and could be more easily “wrapped or sign-written” and then cleaned up for sale.

But white was also popular for another important reason - safety.

“Previous research by Monash University found that black cars had a higher crash risk relative to white vehicles, followed by grey and silver,” Mr Mountain said.

“In periods of reduced visibility, notably dawn and dusk, black vehicles had a 47% higher crash risk and silver a 15% higher crash risk relative to white,” he said.

Emma Verrall at Henley Beach with her Renaut Clio. She describes the colour as “almost-offensively yellow”. Picture: Ben Clark

Emily Lai, Design Manager, Colour & Materials Design at Ford said choosing a car colour had always been a personal choice and customers had become more confident expressing themselves through colour.

This was particularly true for young people and families for whom a car was part of a “total lifestyle that includes vehicles, fashion, devices as well as how they fit into their generation and connect with their peers”.

Ms Lai said, in recent years, white had been a suitable choice for most car exteriors but that was changing as car designs changed.

“As car body shapes become more dynamic with softer, organic forms, customers are beginning to choose more expressive colours that bring out the sportier persona greater than white can.”

As for the rise in the popularity of grey, Ms Lai said the colour had character, was welcoming and had a “timeless appeal”.

“We also see connections back to nature through warmer hues of grey that epitomise natural stone and earth.”

Henley Beach woman Emma Verrall, 25, owns a Renault Clio and describes the colour as

“almost an offensively bright yellow”.

There were 6970 yellow sedans registered to the end of June 2022.

She says the car was a demonstration model when she bought it with help from her family in 2014 and didn’t have much of a say in the choice of colour.

“I remember my mum saying a bright coloured car was good to have as it would make it easier to be seen on the roads,” Ms Verrall says.

“I definitely embraced it, It’s almost become a part of my personality,” she says.

“I think it makes me easier to spot when I’m catching up with friends. I’m known for having a quite bright yellow car.

“And if I were to look for another car I’d definitely look for something a bit more colour and a bit more character. I think it’s just a bit of fun customisation to have.”

The total number of registrations in SA has been increasing annually over the past six years with 1,926,457 vehicles registered in 2022, an increase of nine per cent onthe number registered in 2017.

The registration data includes all kinds of vehicles from agricultural and industrial to golf buggies and boat trailers, as well as regular cars, vans, trucks and buses.