Fans of M.J. will agree, it don’t matter if you’re Black or White. However, we live in a country that walks the thin ‘Brown’ line between these two shades and loves to tumble where the grass is fairer. Think about it, in which other country do they sell so many fairness creams and potions, not just that, they are specifically available for men, women, kids and everything else which wants to look pale. It is now official that our obsession with the colour also reflects in our vehicles, as Indians seem to prefer lighter colours for their machines, with one in every two cars sold in the country painted in white and over a quarter of the buyers opting silver or gray shades.
The northern part of the country is more biased towards white, with 66% of the cars sold in the region being painted in that colour. In the south, white accounts for 34%. south and west have slightly more acceptance for brighter colours like red and its maroon shade with 13% of the buyers choosing these colours. In eastern India, about 14% of new cars sold are painted red or maroon, according to a study by marketing information services firm JD Power.
The choice of colour also marginally depends on the segment of the vehicle. As much as 61% of buyers in the luxury segment choose white. The luxury segment has the highest share of buyers opting black too, at 12%. Bright colours have more acceptance when it comes to car interiors. “Indian customers have varied preferences which are largely towards brighter interiors and there is an increased preference to two-tone interiors,” said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president at Hyundai Motor India. “Some also like exclusive black or beige interior.”
“As per the current sales trend for Honda Cars, white, silver and urban titanium continue to be the favourite colours of choice for our customers,” said Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice-president of marketing and sales at Honda. He cited ease of maintenance, good value in the second-hand market and hot Indian weather conditions — for instance, black cars become too hot inside if parked in the sun — as some of the reasons for the colour preference of Indians. Brighter options have slightly higher premium, which may be making some to look the other way.
According to luxury carmaker Audi India, earlier there was a marked preference for cars in either white or black, but now customers increasingly explore new options. White, grey and silver have more takers in the auto maker’s range of luxury sedans. Red is the preferred choice for the R8, RS7, RS5, S6, S4 and TT range of Audi sports cars.
Source: ET