(September 21, 2017) PARIS — The vast majority of drivers are in the wrong-colored car for their personality. That’s the surprise finding of a pan-European study by Nissan, which reveals a staggering 86% of those polled made an incorrect choice in the showroom.

The research found that even though there are now more vibrant exterior colors and personalization options than ever before, car buyers are still too conservative when it comes to picking paint.

The study was carried out by Nissan to celebrate the personalization options on the all-new Micra hatchback sold in Europe. It found approximately a third of those surveyed should have opted for more striking shades like orange instead of traditional grey and black, based on their personality type.

To help consumers, Nissan has turned to technology and developed an innovative Chatbot in conjunction with acclaimed color psychologist Karen Haller. Delivered via Facebook, it determines the user’s personality and presents the perfect Micra color match for them.

Both the research and Chatbot were developed using Haller's expertise in the field of color psychology. With more than 20 years’ experience, she has worked with many global brands to understand the color choices consumers make.

For the research, questions were devised to quantify an individual’s personality through analysis of their behavior and preferences. This technique is commonly used to indicate a person’s primary personality, for example, as part of the screening process during job interviews.

The findings include:

    86% have chosen the wrong-colored car for their personality type
    Approximately two-thirds went for more traditional / conservative colors
    38% are currently driving a grey or black vehicle
    53% claimed color had impacted their vehicle choice
    Of those, more than half claimed to have selected their favorite color

Based on the 5,000 responses across Europe, high-energy colors such as orange should top the table. These signify energetic, fun and optimistic traits within someone’s personality.

Haller commented: “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 grey. So I’m not surprised that two-thirds of motorists are driving more conservative shades.”

“Often color choices are based around aspirations and black is often seen as an aspirational color, associated with high-end technologies and innovative brands. It may be that far from playing it safe, they are choosing what they perceive as the finer things in life.”

Human response to color goes right back to early childhood. It is not always determined by symbolism or an association, but by in-built ‘hard wiring’ over which we have no control.

People react to color in different ways, and with psychometric analysis an expert such as Haller can understand the relationship between personality types and color association..