Toyota is following in the footsteps of Tesla and BMW and hoping to allow its customers to easily change the color of their cars.

The automobile company started creating the technology to make that happen in 2022, but officially published it in the United States Patent and Trademark Office on March 19. The patent allows drivers to freely change the color of their car, Toyota recently told USA TODAY.

Ditching vinyl wraps and painting jobs, the motor company plans to use the technology that can change colors when in heat or exposed to light. To achieve a desired look, vehicles will have to go through a tunnel-like garage where the paint is heated and a color-modulator device sprays them.

When the patent is available to the public, drivers can request the treatment either when they buy a new car or if they already have a car that they want to change colors., the company said.

Here is a picture of Toyota's patent:

Tesla's software changes car color instantly

If you thought the basic white color of a Tesla was boring, you can change the color of your Tesla from inside of your car. In February 2022, the automaker announced a new software update that would enable its drivers to change their car color with a variety of options displayed on the screen. 

Car Colorizer, the feature that changes the color of a Tesla, can be completed on the screen in the car or through the Tesla app, a company news release said. 

With the color wheel to change a Tesla to any color imaginable, the software has various paint finishes. From solid, metallic to matte, a Tesla driver can change their paint color any way they want to at anytime. 

“You can hate on Teslas all you want, but I bet your car cannot do this,” an Instagram user said while showing off his Tesla that he changed from white to matte red. 

BMW released its color-changing technology last year

BMW released its color-changing technology at the Consumer Electronics Show in May 2022. The show, held in Las Vegas, unveiled the BMW iX Flow featuring E Ink. The BMW iX Flow is of capable of changing color at the click of a button, according to a news release by BMW.

“This gives the driver the freedom to express different facets of their personality or even their enjoyment of change outwardly, and to redefine this each time they sit in their car,” Stella Clarke, head of project for the BMW iX Flow, said in a statement. “Similar to fashion or the status ads on social media channels, the vehicle then becomes an expression of different moods and circumstances in daily life.”

In an Instagram post, Alexandra Mary Hirsch, better known as Supercar.Blondie, demonstrated how the color technology in the BMW iX Flow works. In the settings mode of the app, the all-electric SUV can be changed from white to black with the click of a button.

In addition, the BMW iX Flow can display two colors at once circling around the vehicle with its wave mode. 

“This is not a light reflection. This is actually changing paint,” Hirsch said in the post. “So cool.” 

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X @forbesfineest.

Jenna Hecker is a Video Producer at USA TODAY.

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