British drivers turning to EVs are leading a change in colour preferences, as green-tinted cars sold in 2025 reached their highest volume in 20 years, industry body SMMT said on Friday.
Car colours rarely matter as a business metric, but they can reflect shifting tastes. In recent years those tastes have narrowed to plain shades of grey, prompting Fiat CEO Olivier Francois in 2023 to launch a campaign promoting more cheerful tones.
The EV transition has put a new spin on the trend.
British motorists, associating the colour green with the country’s decarbonisation drive, bought 99,793 green cars in the year, 46.3 per cent more than in 2024 and reaching almost 5 per cent of total cars sold, the SMMT said on Friday.
That comes as electrified cars – either battery-electric, hybrid-electric or plugin-hybrid – reached last year a market share of over 48 per cent in the UK, helped by a national scheme which aims to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2035.
Sales of green-tinted battery-electric vehicles almost doubled to 23,249 units, the SMMT added.
“Manufacturers are responding by expanding model ranges, colours and finishes,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said in a statement.
Grey, however, remained the most popular colour for the eighth consecutive year, followed by black – the top pick for executive cars – blue and white.>
