White is the new silver in cars

Neutral automotive colors like white and black are now more popular than according to an industry survey.

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Think all those silver-colored luxury sedans are a big yawn? You're not alone.

After a seven-year streak as the most popular automotive color, silver has been deposed, according to a report released by automotive paint maker DuPont.

The new favorite color in the North American, Mexican, and Japanese markets is white, though black and good old silver trail by a thin margin in North America.

DuPont sees neutral white as a "trend-shifting" color, and predicts that metallic black and other paints with special effects will eventually become more popular. Meanwhile black took an overwhelming lead in Europe, while red is also gaining popularity.

The paint maker plans to unveil a set of neutral-based colors like "Whitney White" and "Roger Rocket" (white with a touch of blue) at its upcoming automotive color show.

White's neutral-ness encourages customization, adds Karen Surcina, DuPont's color marketing manager, who also points out that a preference for neutrals is becoming the global trend.

DuPont's (Charts, Fortune 500) Global Automotive Color Popularity Report measures color popularity in seven different regions. Worldwide, the overall trend seems to be away from silver and towards gray. However, vibrant hues like red and orange, while less common, have been growing in popularity for a those vehicle owners who prefer to show off their true colors. To top of page

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.