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You might have blamed the winter gloom, but if the traffic ahead of you appears a bit drab, it is because the view really is greyer than it was.

Half a million of us chose to buy a grey car in 2018, making it the most popular colour for the first time, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Just over one in five new car registrations last year were grey in the UK.

More than half of new cars registered were either black, grey or white.

Car sales fell in 2018, so almost every shade saw a decline in the numbers of each colour sold. The exceptions were orange, which grew in popularity by 37% and beige which increased 28%.

Cream was the biggest faller on the colour chart with just 559 drivers choosing it in 2018.

Silver, previously a favourite, was no longer among the top five.

Primary colours

Broken down regionally, the trends were slightly different in Scotland, where white was the biggest seller.

However in Northern Ireland and Wales grey remained popular.