Blue is the most popular car colour choice

Blue has officially overtaken silver as the most popular car colour amongst buyers, according to new research from the AA.

The motoring organisation collated data from a poll of 25,810 drivers, and found that their top choice of colour for their next car was blue, with 21 per cent saying they’d go blue.

Silver was knocked back into second place with 19 per cent of the vote after years spent at the top, while black and red came into third and fourth position with 18 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

Blue, silver and black the top choices

Drivers aged between 18 and 24 were most likely to select black as their top choice, with nearly a third of the vote, while those aged 65 and over liked silver, blue and red the best.

The AA’s research also revealed some interesting information, with the organisation enlisting the help of colour psychologists to take a closer look at why people choose certain colours.

According to the psychologists, black or white cars could be a sign that the buyer is trying to show off their status, while those who choose orange or purple cars “are trying to be wacky”.

What does your car say about you?

Psychologists also suggested that the owners of beige or pastel coloured cars could be more likely to suffer depression, while the happiest motorists apparently drive blue metallic cars.

Edmund King, AA president, said: "Even though blue is the top car colour choice we don't think it was influenced by the general election result or Chelsea FC winning the league.

“Car colours are generally fairly conservative and I wouldn't worry too much what the shrinks say about your colour choice.”

Resale values were also shown to have a significant effect on colour choice, with silver, blue and black the best in terms of holding their value, while oddly coloured cars may struggle to be sold.

Some choices can affect resale value

The AA stated that numerous police forces have specifically switched to buying cars in these colours in order to cash in on better resale values once the patrol cars have been retired from the force.

David Bruce, director of AA Cars, said: "There has been no radical change in car colours over the last couple of years although we have seen a surge in red and white cars.

“When buying a used car you need to have a degree of flexibility in your colour choice but don't make any rash judgments - it is you that will have to live with that purple or brown car. It is also worth thinking about resale values for nearly new cars.