IT'S a reflection of the mood of the nation during the Covid crisis and grey has remained the top car colour in the UK.

Figures released by the Society of Motor Traders and Manufacturers show the colour adorned almost a quarter of the new cars sold during 2020.

Black and white took second and third place overall, completing a monochrome podium, with more than six in ten (61.6 per cent) of all new cars entering British roads in 2020 painted in these three colours.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive,said:"2020 wasapretty darkyearfor the automotive industry andhavinggrey as the top new car colourprobablyreflects the atmosphere."

It is the third year running grey has been in top spot in the annual survey.

While it was a tough year for new car registrations overall, 397,197 grey units were sold over the course of 2020, which means that just shy of a quarter (24.3 per cent) of all new cars sold were painted in the shade.

The rest of the top 10 remained unchanged, apart from yellow and bronze which reversed places as yellow increased its market share by 50 per cent but equivalent to only 6,816 sales.

Red saw its registrations drop below 200,000 for the first time in a decade to 147,222, recording its worst tally in the survey since 1997.

Overall, there were 106 different distinct colours registered throughout the year with the least popular colour nationwide being maroon.

The only areas to not opt for grey cars as their number one choice were the Isle of Wight and the Borders, where blue was the most popular tint, and Strathclyde which saw white take the top spot.

Leicestershire, meanwhile, was the most popular location for pink cars, with 23.7 per cent of the UK's total registered in the region, while buyers in the West Midlands snapped up the most orange cars.

While white was the most popular shade for the mini segment, luxury saloons and executive cars were most likely to be black.

The Top Ten colours for cars in 2020 were:

1. Grey 2. Black 3. White 4. Blue 5. Red 6. Silver 7. Orange 8. Green 9. Yellow 10. Bronze