Five trends to focus on in the aftermarket

Jan. 1, 2020
R.L. Polk & Co. continued its annual Five Trends in Five Minutes at the AAIA Town Hall on Wednesday morning, with Tim Rogers, president of Polk, outlining the outlook.

LAS VEGAS — As the aftermarket moves through and beyond the five years, there are many trends on which the aftermarket needs to focus.

Like this article? Sign up for our enews blasts here.

R.L. Polk & Co. continued its annual Five Trends in Five Minutes at the AAIA Town Hall on Wednesday morning, with Tim Rogers, president of Polk, outlining the outlook. The five trends include that light vehicle sales will rise, the vehicle population will continue to age, CUVs and mid-size cars are driving the recovery of new vehicle sales, globalization of platforms and model families are accelerating and technology in vehicles will offer increasing aftermarket opportunities.

Looking at the trends will help the aftermarket focus on parts to produce, training that’s needed and ways to reach consumers and streamline processes and inventory.

“The aftermarket should keep an eye on who’s making the right moves now to know which vehicles it will see in the bays,” Rogers says about the first trend, light vehicle sales. 

Light vehicle sales have seen a recent 13 percent year over year increase, hitting 14.3 million sales in 2012. Rogers says it is trending upward to break 15 million units in 2013.

Volkswagen is working through its strategy to become the No. 1 carmaker by 2018, and currently is running 34 percent over year to date sales comparing 2012 to 2011.

Hyundai and Kia are focused on maintaining the market share they are growing, while Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are experiencing their own unique growing pains still.

Related to sales, the vehicle population is at an average 11.3 years old, a 12 percent increase since 2007. The average length of new vehicle ownership is at 71.6 months, also on the rights. Also, scrappage rates have dropped to a 60-year low to 4.8 percent, Rogers states.

Those drivers who are purchasing new vehicles, many are opting for cross-over vehicles (CUVs) and mid-sized cars. The large vehicle segments are dropping, including large pickups dropping from 13 to 10 percent of the market in the last five years.

According to new registration data through the first half of 2012, mid-size sedans make up 20 percent of new registration, while CUVs are 25 percent. Rogers says that the growth of four cylinder engines in this segment are making the vehicles more appealing, and the aftermarket should take notice to know what types of vehicles shops will be seeing.

Also, more vehicles will be produced on similar platforms. Currently, the highest volume platform is the Nissan B platform at 2.5 million units globally. Going back to Volkswagen’s strategy, the VW MQB platform will be on 10 million vehicles by 2020.

Rogers adds that vehicle platforms will grow in the NAFTA region at 7 percent, western Europe by 9 percent and Asia Pacific by 72 percent by 2023.

“Understanding this can help the aftermarket target tooling and reduce inventory,” Rogers says. It also will help with manufacturing, distribution and cataloging costs.

Finally, the new technology on vehicles will offer increasing aftermarket opportunities from new fuels to in-car systems.

“Technology advances are coming, which if anticipated and embraced could be a major win for the aftermarket,” Rogers says.
This includes looking at new powertrains and fuels to meet CAFE standards. Also, hybrid sales are up and diesel sales down since 2006. Hybrid sales are expected to hit 3 percent market share in 2012, the highest share every.

In addition to these trends, Rogers noted that the aftermarket needs to be aware of the oil indicator light, as most vehicles have an indicator now. He explains that OEMs are using that indicator as the only notification of needs for oil changes. The aftermarket must anticipate this, as consumers will be trained to rely on this indicator rather than the mileage or month time frames they know now.

“The aftermarket must recognize that trend and develop ways to communicate with the driver much like the OEMs,” he says.

Have articles like this sent to you weekly by signing up for our enews blasts here.

Sponsored Recommendations

ZEUS+: The Cutting-Edge Diagnostic Solution for Smart, Fast, and Efficient Auto Repairs

The new ZEUS+ simplifies your diagnostic process and guides you through the right repair, avoiding unnecessary steps along the way. It gives you the software coverage, processing...

Diagnostic Pre- and Post-scan Reports are Solid Gold for Profitability

The following article highlights the significance of pre-scans and post-scans, particularly with Snap-on scan tools, showcasing their efficiency in diagnosing issues and preventing...

Unlock Precision and Certainty: TRITON-D10 Webinar Training for Advanced Vehicle Diagnostics

The TRITON-D10 lets you dig deep into the systems of a vehicle and evaluate performance with comparative data, systematically eliminating the unnecessary to provide you with only...

APOLLO-D9: Trustworthy Diagnostics for Precision Repairs

The APOLLO-D9 provides the diagnostic information and resources you need to get the job done. No more hunting through forums or endlessly searching to find the right answers. ...

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Vehicle Service Pros, create an account today!