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Black back as most popular colour for used cars

Black has made a comeback to top the colour chart for used cars while white cars have seen the biggest trend shift, according to BCA.

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26% of the total cars sold this year were black, representing a large trend shift.

Analysis of vehicles sold by BCA this year shows black is back in the top spot, accounting for 26% of the total sold.

As a result, silver, which was the most popular colour for a used car five years ago, has slipped to second, accounting for 18% of vehicles sold by BCA in 2016, with grey in joint third place with blue, each representing 14% of used cars sold.

However, its white cars that have seen the biggest percentage move. Five years ago, white accounted for just 3% of used cars sold by BCA; in 2016 that has jumped to 13.5% of the total.

Red cars represent 8.5% of used cars in 2016, a similar percentage to five years ago. Green appears to be less populous, however, falling from 3% five years ago to around 1% in 2016. Other colours appearing in relatively low volumes include brown, beige and orange with less than 1%.

Looking at values, white cars average the highest figure at £9,811, largely as a result of being sold at the lowest average age and mileage combination of 43 months and 43,000 miles.  In comparison, black cars average £8,122 when sold, although the mileage and age are significantly higher at 62 months and 58,000 miles.

BCA spokesman Tim Naylor said: At BCA we see a good mix of colours across the range of cars being offered, but the critical factor is for the colour to match the car.

Smaller hatchbacks and city cars look good in bolder, quirkier colours, but limited edition colour schemes tend to date relatively quickly.

In the upper medium and mini-MPV sectors, most metallic colours sell well, but nothing too garish. In the rugged 4×4 off-road market, buyers often choose utilitarian colours while for larger executive and prestige models, buyers prefer popular colours but in sober shades metallic black, silver and blue for example. White has been very desirable in recent years, particularly when matched with contrasting black trim.

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Natalie Middleton

Natalie has worked as a fleet journalist for over 20 years, previously as assistant editor on the former Company Car magazine before joining Fleet World in 2006. Prior to this, she worked on a range of B2B titles, including Insurance Age and Insurance Day.