Car makers use blue to get their green message accross

In the future all cars will have to be kind to the environment and meet increasingly stringent emission targets. Thankfully car technology is so much at the forefront of change and innovation it puts many other industries (and polluters) to shame. It may be some time, however before the majority of drivers totally embrace the green message, or is it the blue message? If you look at all the leading car makers now most are using the word blue in their “green” engine eco-friendly range if that makes any sense. Blue-motion, Blue-tec, Blue drive, Blue energy are just some names being used to get the “green” message across. There’s no “Blue Move” as yet but that may be because it sounds like a porn film.

According to the marketing men “blue” is “green plus technology” and although you can see the marketing logic in using the colour blue and all that it encapsulates (i.e. blue sky, blue sea and blue earth) because although car makers realise that they have to take part in this new world, they also would like to downplay the green message which may have some stigmatism with potential buyers. This means if they can somehow sell it subtly by avoiding the heavily loaded “green” message they can still do their bit for the planet and continue to sell lots of cars.

There may be another reason car makers are reluctant to use green in their PR and that might relate to the fact that, for some unknown reason, it’s seen to be an unlucky colour and compared to many classic colours it still falls way down the list of choices for most drivers.

Blue can also be used to describe many different shades which look fresh and new where green simply cannot, so if you are wondering why eco friendly green cars are being branded by blue names you now know, it’s to make you buy an environmentally friendly car without really having to have the concept rammed down your throat.

If there is any group of people in the world more likely to rebel against being told what they can and can’t buy it is car drivers. They will stomach fuel price hikes, taxation extortions, dodgy roads and painful bureaucracy but don’t tell them what to buy, encourage the buy-in and explain, just don’t insist because they will go the other way.

Car makers looking for a way of selling green cars? Ditch green and just join the blue queue!

Subscribe to Motor Trade Insider by Email