Nissan Says Black, Gray Overshadow Bright Car Colors

Black and gray may be the most popular paint jobs among buyers of Nissan’s all-new Micra hatchback, but that doesn’t necessarily mean those colors are right for their personality.

A Europe-wide survey of 5,000 people found more than half of drivers played it safe with neutral color choices despite more personalization options than ever before.

Nissan found about a third of those surveyed should have opted for more striking shades such as orange instead of traditional gray and black, based on their personality type.

The automaker says it carried out the study to promote the color personalization options on its all-new Micra hatchback that went on sale in March.

Nissan developed a chatbot – defined by Wikipedia as a computer program that conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods – in conjunction with color psychologist Karen Haller to determine the user’s personality and offer the perfect Micra color match for them.

Both the research and chatbot were developed using Haller’s expertise. With more than 20 years’ experience, she has worked with many global brands to understand consumers’ color choices. For the research, questions were devised to quantify an individual’s personality through analysis of their behavior and preferences. This technique commonly is used to indicate a person’s primary personality, for example, as part of the screening process during job interviews.

The findings showed 53% of respondents said color impacted their vehicle choice, with more than half saying they selected their favorite color.

Sales data for the Micra shows Enigma Black is the top choice among customers across Europe – as it was 10 years ago – but running neck and neck with Gunmetal Grey at 21%. They are followed by Glaze White (14%), Passion Red (11%), Energy Orange (9%) and Power Blue (7%).

Haller says social factors come into play with color choice.

“For example, in times of economic uncertainty, it’s common for people to play it safe and pick a car with a neutral palette – such as black, white or gray,” she says in a statement. “So I’m not surprised that two-thirds of motorists are driving more conservative shades.”