Introducing StarLite, Axalta’s 2018 Automotive Color of the Year. StarLite is a modern, technology-savvy, premium color for vehicles of today and tomorrow. Borne from Axalta’s ChromaDyne™ line of color coats developed for automotive OEMs, StarLite is a light and reflective hue that uses Axalta’s tri-coat process formulated with synthetic pearl flakes to create an eye catching pearlescent effect.

StarLite was chosen not only because it is a sophisticated color designed to look great on all vehicle sizes but because it is designed with sustainability and technology in mind. StarLite’s light and reflective properties may allow vehicles to be more easily detectable by LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) systems. Furthermore, researchers at Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area showed how a vehicle’s color affects fuel economy and emissions. Berkeley Lab’s tests found that using white or similar paint instead of black paint could enable manufacturers to downsize a car’s air conditioner and raise fuel economy by 2.0 percent, decrease CO₂ emissions by 1.9 percent, and reduce other automotive emissions by about 1 percent.

The Automotive Color of the Year is selected by Axalta’s color designers and product experts who take inspiration from culture, fashion, nature and our Global Automotive Color Popularity Report. The recently released 2017 report, found white to be the number one color in the world for the seventh consecutive year. Globally, nearly 40 percent of buyers chose white in 2017. Pearlescent white, the category that includes StarLite, grew four percentage points to 13 percent overall in 2017. Autonomy, technology and sustainability are megatrends in contemporary pop culture.

Stay tuned to this page throughout the year to learn more about StarLite as Axalta showcases the exciting color around the world.