By CRM staff
Peterborough, Ontario – Jan 15, 2018 —For the first time in five years, Axalta Automotive’s Colour of the Year, Sahara, will be available for vehicle customization at the manufacturing facilities, as well as in the aftermarket. The colour is a golden bronze tone that is said by the company to radiate warmth, richness and strength from vehicles of all sizes, but particularly from truck and SUV models. Sahara is also available as the principle colour for two-tone possibilities including back roofs.
“At Axalta, we are seeing car designers leaning toward options for two-toning, accent roofs and stripes,” said Nancy Lockhart, Axalta Global Color marketing manager. “When it comes to mass customization, Sahara is the type of color that can serve as the foundation for these premium options.”
Created from Axalta’s ChromaDyne line of colour coats formulated for global automotive manufacturers, Sahara was inspired by global demands for warmer shades as highlighted in the company’s Global Automotive Colour Popularity Report. Currently yellow/gold vehicles are the most popular in India and China, while brown/beige are on the rise in North America more than any other region.
Sahara is one of Axalta’s five Colour of the Year award winners, which include Radiant Red (2015), Brillant Blue (2016), Gallant Grey (2017) and StarLite (2018). StarLite, a pearlescent white, first introduced coatings technology into the autonomous vehicle discussions.
Dan Benton, Axalta Refinish Colour marketing manager, said Axalta’s Colour of the Year is just another example of how Axalta is transferring OEM technology to the aftermarket and repair business. “We get calls every year from some of the industry’s best custom builders looking to use color to differentiate their products,” he said. “We have Sahara formulated and ready-to-go in our industry-leading refinish brands including Cromax, Standox and Spies Hecker.
Axalta will be kicking off a year-long celebration of Sahara during the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Included in the celebration will be a video reveal at the EyesOn Design awards program on Jan,15. and a display during the Axalta-sponsored Charity Preview on Jan, 18.
