Beige (-12.4%), gold (-12.0%) and maroon (-10.5%) are all in decline, along with brown (-3.4%). Fewer of these shades are joining the road than leaving it.
Green is making a comeback
Green is the surprise winner. It grew by 16.3% in four years, faster than any colour except grey, and passed one million licensed vehicles for the first time in the data. Bronze (+13.0%), orange (+10.8%) and cream (+9.7%) are also growing quickly, though from much smaller numbers.
Red and blue are holding steady, but slipping
The number of red vehicles has barely moved, but because the fleet has grown, red’s share has slipped from 10.4% to 9.8%. Blue has followed the same path, from 15.5% to 14.9%.
Classic cars: where the colour lives
The DVLA’s historic taxation class covers vehicles made in 1985 or earlier, around 1.35 million in total. Just 30.4% of them are black, white, grey or silver, less than half the rate of the wider fleet.
Red is the most common classic car colour, on more than one in five historic vehicles. Blue comes a close second. Green, which barely registers on modern roads, is as common among classics as black.
| Colour |
Historic vehicles |
Historic share |
Share of all licensed vehicles |
| Red |
286,550 |
21.3% |
9.8% |
| Blue |
255,832 |
19.0% |
14.9% |
| Black |
167,449 |
12.4% |
18.5% |
| Green |
167,006 |
12.4% |
2.5% |
| White |
133,531 |
9.9% |
20.9% |
| Grey |
62,171 |
4.6% |
17.8% |
| Yellow |
55,401 |
4.1% |
0.9% |
| Silver |
45,807 |
3.4% |
11.5% |
| Orange |
31,223 |
2.3% |
0.9% |
| Brown |
20,090 |
1.5% |
0.5% |
| Maroon |
19,471 |
1.4% |
0.1% |
| Gold |
16,984 |
1.3% |
0.2% |
| Cream |
14,123 |
1.0% |
0.1% |
| Beige |
13,930 |
1.0% |
0.4% |
| Purple |
9,901 |
0.7% |
0.3% |
| Multi-coloured |
6,942 |
0.5% |
0.1% |
| Bronze |
5,000 |
0.4% |
0.3% |
| Turquoise |
1,856 |
0.1% |
0.1% |
| Pink |
1,800 |
0.1% |
0.1% |
A further 32,316 historic vehicles (2.4%) have no colour recorded.
The gaps are striking. Green is five times more common among classics, yellow more than four times, cream around ten times and maroon around 18 times. Grey and silver, by contrast, cover just 8.0% of historic vehicles against 29.3% of the wider fleet.
Two-tone paint is a classic hallmark
One in six historic vehicles (17.2%) is recorded with two different colours, such as red and grey or blue and white. Across all licensed vehicles, the figure is just 1.9%. Two-tone paintwork, once common on everything from Minis to camper vans, has almost disappeared from modern cars.
Where in Britain are cars most colourful?
The DVLA also broke its data down by postcode district. We grouped those districts into postcode areas to see where colour survives best. (This dataset includes SORN vehicles as well as taxed ones, so its national figures differ slightly from those above.)
The pattern is clear: rural Scotland, Wales and the South West are Britain’s most colourful corners, while London and the commuter belt are the most monochrome.
| Most colourful postcode areas |
Non-greyscale vehicles |
| KW (Kirkwall, Orkney and Caithness) |
45.2% |
| LD (Llandrindod Wells, mid Wales) |
44.2% |
| SY (Shrewsbury and mid Wales) |
41.7% |
| PH (Perth and Highland Perthshire) |
41.2% |
| HR (Hereford) |
41.0% |
| DG (Dumfries and Galloway) |
40.2% |
| TD (Scottish Borders) |
39.6% |
| DT (Dorchester, Dorset) |
39.4% |
| TA (Taunton, Somerset) |
39.3% |
| IV (Inverness) |
39.1% |
| Least colourful postcode areas |
Non-greyscale vehicles |
| SL (Slough) |
23.9% |
| IG (Ilford) |
24.6% |
| UB (Southall) |
25.7% |
| EN (Enfield) |
26.0% |
| E (East London) |
26.0% |
| NW (North West London) |
26.2% |
| N (North London) |
26.8% |
| W (West London) |
26.9% |
| RM (Romford) |
27.2% |
| MK (Milton Keynes) |
27.6% |
In the KW area, nearly one vehicle in two is a colour other than black, white, grey or silver. In Slough, it’s fewer than one in four. Across London’s own postcode areas (E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W and WC) combined, the figure is 27.6%, against 33.2% for Britain overall.
Vehicles are registered to their keeper’s address, so areas home to big leasing and fleet companies can skew towards newer, more neutral cars.
What it means for classic car owners
Mark Wilkinson, Managing Director at Heritage Car Insurance, said:
“The data shows just how grey we’ve become. More than two-thirds of licensed vehicles are now black, white, grey or silver, and even silver, the old favourite, is disappearing fast. We’re starting to buy cars the way we buy fridges: neutral and easy to resell.”
“The lovely flip side is that the classics are where the colour has gone to live. Nearly seven in ten wear a proper colour, and red and green still reign. A British Racing Green MG or a bright red Escort turns heads precisely because you just don’t see those colours any more. It’s a big part of the character owners cherish, and why these cars are worth protecting properly.”
Original paint is part of what makes a classic special. A rare factory colour or an original two-tone finish can be hard and costly to match after damage, so it’s worth making sure your policy reflects your car’s true value.
Heritage has been insuring cherished vehicles since 1965. We offer tailored cover for classic, modern classic and enthusiast vehicles, whether you use yours for Sunday drives, club meets, European touring or a restoration project. Find out more about our classic car insurance.
About the data
All figures come from a DVLA Freedom of Information response (FOIR13491), dated 30 June 2026.
- National figures use the DVLA’s May snapshot for each year from 2022 to 2026 and cover licensed (taxed) vehicles. Earlier years were not available.
- Historic-vehicle figures cover the DVLA’s historic taxation class, including taxed and SORN vehicles. These are vehicles made in 1985 or earlier, or first registered then where the manufacture date is unknown.
- Regional figures cover taxed and SORN vehicles by postcode district, which we grouped into postcode areas. Areas with fewer than 50,000 vehicles were left out, and vehicles with no colour recorded were excluded from the regional percentages.
- Colours are grouped by the primary colour the DVLA records. A “Red / Grey” vehicle, for example, counts as red.
- “Greyscale” means black, white, grey and silver combined. “Non-greyscale” means every other recorded colour.
