Sea Glass is Axalta's Global Automotive Color of the Year

Axalta made a splash with its 2020 global automotive color of the year, Sea Glass.

Axalta says its 2020 global automotive color of the year is Sea Glass, a modern turquoise blue shade.

Nancy Lockhart, Axalta’s global product manager for color, says it was inspired by nature’s waterways and oceans, and has depth and intense color as it glitters in sunlight, making it a color that consumers want and that will be noticed by motorists around the world.

Axalta’s 2019 Global Automotive Color Popularity Report reported that blue vehicles are 7% of the global automotive market, fifth overall following white, black, gray and silver. Regions with the highest level of blue vehicles are North America and Europe at 10%.

“The trend toward turquoise blues is growing,” Lockhart says. “Sea Glass was designed for all vehicle types, from compact and sport vehicles to medium sedans and large SUVs and trucks.”

More than just beautiful and trendy, Sea Glass is formulated for reflective properties and is highly detectable by Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems.

“Bright and pearlescent, Sea Glass is designed to be transmissible for radio detection and ranging, meeting the color trends of today for the autonomous vehicles of tomorrow,” Lockhart says. “The transmission properties of Axalta’s Sea Glass, as well as many colors in our expansive color portfolio, allow vehicle-to-vehicle detection to occur.”

Dan Benton, Axalta’s marketing manager for color, says Sea Glass is ready for the market now in brands such as Cromax, Standox and Spies Hecker.

In conjunction with the release of the 2020 automotive color of the year, Axalta will help to remove more than 1,000 pounds of waste from our oceans. Through its Bright Futures program, Axalta has helped to conserve more than 13,000 acres of wetlands through its partnership with Ducks Unlimited in North America and Ducks Unlimited de Mexico; planted more than 30,000 trees in Inner Mongolia and Hebei Province with the China Mother River Protection Program in partnership with the China Youth Development Foundation; partnered with the S.M. Sehgal Foundation in India to construct three ponds totaling 30-million-liter capacity in the drought-ridden Bhooriya Baas village in the Alwar district; and participated in multiple other conservation and environmental stewardship programs around the world.