The launch of Citroen's colourful Cactus compact SUV has revealed some interesting state trends, with the bright, vibrant Hello Yellow commanding one-third (33%) of all pre-orders nationwide.
With 23,184 possible colour and trim combinations Cactus enables owners a seemingly endless array of personalisation options and, while Hello Yellow commands top billings in most states, it is Victoria where white has taken top billing.
"We're quite surprised by Victorian orders – it was one of the only states, along with the ACT, where Yellow wasn't the predominant colour choice," said Citroen Australia's National Sales Manager, Shaun Mackle.
"It wasn't until we sat back and realised it is the choice of colour for the state's taxi fleet in Victoria, which led us on a bit of a research," said Mackle.
In New South Wales the top colour choices were Hello Yellow (23%), followed by Pearl White at 18% and Blue Lagoon (Aqua) with 15%.
"Interestingly, New South Welshman are more inclined to personalise their Cactus, with 60% of customers opting for personalised mirror shells, roof rails or C-Pillar lettering; the highest of any state," said Mackle.
In Victoria colour choices stand at 35% White, 23% Hello Yellow and 12% each for Black, Blue Lagoon and Olive Brown.
Queensland was dominated by high contrast colours with Hello Yellow accounting for 47% of pre-orders, whites commanded 30% of orders, while red snuck in with 12% of pre-orders.
"The higher temperatures of Queensland have seen a significant lack of dark cars, with not a single black vehicle featuring in the pre-orders – while only one-third have opted for a panoramic roof", said Mackle.
Western Australian orders are coloured by and even mix of Hello Yellow, Blue Lagoon, Purple, White and Red.
"Much like Queensland, Western Australians avoided darker colours but, in contrast to their east coast counterparts, 80% of orders in WA feature panoramic roof," said Mackle.
In the nation's capital darker hues have dominated pre-orders with Black and Deep Purple out in front.
"Interestingly for us, the ACT is one of only two markets to feature a 100% diesel drivetrains, the other being Tasmania – this is driven by Cactus' low emissions and fuel use, which will benefit state road taxes and registration," said Mackle.
Tasmanians went straight for colour with the Apple Isle's orders consisting of Hello Yellow and Blue Lagoon.
"Historically, Tasmania's have always opted for brighter colours, we've seen it in the past with other Citroen models and we are pleased to see this continue," said Mackle.
Other interesting numbers resulting from Cactus pre-orders:
- Black is the most popular bump colour with 80% of vehicles specified with the standard colour
- Chocolate is the second most popular colour with 10% of vehicles ordered with this colour
- 25% of owners have opted for black rims of over the standard polished alloy
- 20% of customers have specified C-Pillar decals
- 0% of customers have specified a silver vehicle with brown bumps
Citroen's innovative Cactus compact SUV launches in late Q1, 2016. For further information visit http://www.citroen.com.au/new-car/c4-cactus/