Silver cars are less likely to wind up in accidents than cars of other colours, scientists at the University of Auckland reported in 2003. Did we all know that subconsciously? According to chemical group DuPont, silver happens also to be the overall colour of choice for car buyers globally.

DuPont’s latest global car colour popularity chart is not a riot of colour – silver, black and white are the most popular hues worldwide. But small outbreaks of colour can be glimpsed at the lower end of the market shares. In Russia, chromatic colours such as red, green and blue are far more popular than anywhere else in the world. Indian drivers have a taste for yellow/gold – a livery selected by fewer than 1 per cent of European drivers. China is the only region where orange is a popular option: 3 per cent of Chinese car buyers chose it. When Europeans go for a chromatic colour, their most frequent choice is blue.

Source: DuPont Global Color Popularity report, 2008; figures are rounded up