The colour black takes auto industry by storm

Five years back, the only black-coloured passenger cars around would have been either an army Ambassador or a forlorn hearse. Today, the col...

Five years back, the only black-coloured passenger cars around would have been either an army Ambassador or a forlorn hearse. Today, the colour black is one of the most sought after colours for Indian automobiles, fuelled by a new generation of prosperous buyers in their 20s and 30s, discarding traditional notions about the colour and latching onto international fashion trends instead. Black cars make for almost 25 per cent of sales—and make some cars look better, and manufacturers aren’t complaining.

“Black makes most cars look good, especially so with the Indica whose lines get better accentuated in black,” says a Tata Motors official. The buyer profile, adds the official, is mostly people in their late 20s and black-coloured cars in the Tata range, especially the Indica, constitute about 15 per cent of total sales.

COLOUR BIAS

• Over 30 per cent Honda Accord and Ford Ikon SXi models sold are in black
• The preference applies only to petrol. Diesel models in black don’t sell
• Black sells best in the luxury segment
• The colour black is an international favourite for cars

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While the colour black is considered inauspicious in India—especially in the North—it’s a perennial fad elsewhere in the world, says Rajani Konantambigi of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. “We still have black limousines, that denote an aura of power. It could very well be that people are, through their choice of colour, aiming to bridge the socio-economic divide,” she says. “Social and cultural perceptions have weakened over time too.” It is not just showroom sales that account for the colour black, manufacturers say that customer requests for black-coloured models keep pouring in, especially among the top-end models.

Honda Siel India head (marketing) Neeraj Garg, says that their launch of a black colour in the City range last year has met with a great response and contributes 10 per cent of the total sales. “It is the luxury car buyer who appears to be preferring black,” he says, “The top-end Honda Accord, with the pearl-black finish, contributes almost 35 per cent of our sales.” Ford India director (corporate affairs) Vinay Piparsania, says that black is among the most preferred colours in their top-end Ikon SXi range, and black-coloured models constituted 30 per cent of the cars sold last year.

“Most of our SXi buyers are young and individualistic. Even our advertising for the SXi model celebrates the colour,” he adds.

Another interesting fact is that almost all the cars in black are petrol models. Diesel, according to manufacturers, among the top-end consumer equates with utilitarianism and doesn’t quite complete that premium feel. According to a Maruti official, India is now moving closer to international trends as regards colour preference.

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Internationally, black is among the largest-selling colours in automobiles. The Baleno, Esteem, Alto and the Wagon R are among the cars in Maruti’s line-up sold in black. The manufacturer recently launched a two-door limited edition Zen Carbon in black.

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