Evaluation of Hyperspectral Imaging Visible/Near Infrared Spectroscopy as a forensic tool for automotive paint distinction

•Paint fragments has the potential to associate a suspect with a given crime scene.•Investigation of HSI-UV/VIS/NIR data from automotive paints for forensic purpose.•PCA analysis could discriminate 100% of white, silver, red and grey paint samples.•Automotive black paints presented a much lower discriminating power (62.5%).•HSI-UV/VIS/NIR has proved to be a relevant tool of traffic accidents investigation.