The automotive specialty-equipment market kept humming along to the tune of $44.6 billion in total parts sales in 2018—a 4% increase over 2017, according to the just-released “2019 SEMA Market Report.” Rumors continue to circulate that young people have disengaged from the automotive aftermarket hobby, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Young customizers spent more than $7 billion on parts.
Car-care products—the creams, coatings, polishes and waxes that provide luster and shine and help prolong the life of myriad interior and exterior components—are among the most ubiquitous in the automotive aftermarket. You need never set foot in an auto-parts store in your lifetime to come across them, as nearly every grocery store, drug store, convenience store and car wash in America stocks a respectable range of them.
Of the many categories that comprise the aftermarket, powersports stands out with consumers for its ability to offer fun, utility and outdoor recreation. According to research by Global Market Insights, the industry is expected to trend upward from $11 billion in 2018 to $14.5 billion by 2025. Interestingly, much of the current growth is attributable not to motorcycles, the category’s traditional stalwarts, but to the rise of utility-task vehicles (UTVs), also commonly called side-by-sides.
In 2004, Justin Parker told his wife that he had an idea to start an aftermarket retail website. The next day, she handed him a shoebox with every piece of spare change she could find in the house and car. She told him that if God was guiding him that way, she was all in too.
If the SEMA Show comprises the body of the automotive aftermarket, Hot Rod Alley might well be said to be its beating heart. For decades, the hot-rod and performance-street segments have led the aftermarket in leading-edge engine, drivetrain and suspension technologies. Given recent industry and technological trends, the hot-rodding market segment only figures to increase in popularity and sales in years to come.
Is today’s younger generation giving up on driving, shunning car culture and turning away from vehicle accessorization? Far from it, says a new consumer study by SEMA’s Marketing Research department. In fact, the recently released “SEMA Young Accessorizers Report” suggests that this demographic is still as car crazy as ever—just in a different way.
The SEMA 2019 Business Resource Guide features contact information and descriptions of SEMA member-companies offering services specific to the automotive aftermarket industry. The guide, which is available electronically at www.SEMA.org/BRG, features contact information and descriptions of SEMA member-companies offering services specific to the automotive aftermarket industry.
What vehicle can be more American than a truck? Ever since Henry Ford introduced his first Model T in 1908, light trucks have been the vehicles of the masses, both at home and abroad. Powerful, sturdy, versatile and capable of almost anything, wherever they go, we work with them, play with them and return to them again and again when times are good. And right now, it seems, times are very good indeed.
The impact of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) is already being felt by the automotive specialty-equipment and collision-repair industries, raising new challenges and opportunities. In this interview, SEMA Vice President of Vehicle Technology John Waraniak shares some frontline insights regarding the current state of aftermarket preparedness, along with association efforts to educate and ready businesses for the rapid changes they face.
For a while, it seemed that American muscle had seen its heyday. By the ‘80s its so-called glory years had faded, displaced by growing consumer demand for compact fuel-sippers and practical sedans. But with recent advancements in turbocharging and other mileage-enhancing technologies, modern muscle is now ironically turning the tables on the traditional passenger car.
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