A Look at Areas of Interest for Specialty-Equipment Companies

By Mike Imlay

Racers, street performance enthusiasts, four wheelers, restorers and boat owners all need engines, which means that, at some point, they tap into the performance niche occupied by engine builders and, more often than not, the specialty shops that install replacement engines. It’s a segment composed of small businesses, not-so-small businesses and by OEM crate-engine distributors—all offering powertrain solutions.

In fact, use of ready-made drop-in crate engines with known horsepower and torque specifications has become a driving force in the marketplace in recent years. In particular, the GM LS series has become...

SEMA’s Vice President of Vehicle Technology on the State of Advanced Vehicle Technology and What’s to Come

The race to define future vehicles is on. Competition for the future of the auto industry is rapidly evolving between Silicon Valley and Detroit. While product is king, vehicle electronics and software rule. The recession accelerated the auto industry’s transformational changes, which are required for growth as well as the reinvention of vehicles—from mechanical to electrical systems, from stand-alone to connected, and from mass markets to personalization and customization. The changes we are going through today will impact the performance aftermarket industry for decades to come.

The Product Development Expo, fueled by the SEMA Garage, and sponsored by the SEMA Data Co-op and the Emerging Trends & Technology Network, will be held Thursday, April 10, at SEMA headquarters in Diamond Bar, California.

The expo will provide specialty-equipment companies with insight on how the methods for vehicle production have been transformed on the OEM level—specifically during the past 10 years— and require companies to adapt quickly to new and emerging technologies to stay competitive.

Companies interested in exhibiting at the 2014 SEMA Show, set for November 4–7, 2014, in Las Vegas, may now submit applications for space. Manufacturers that apply before the April 11 deadline will participate in the Priority Booth Space Selection process, where exhibitors are assigned their booth location in the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The SEMA Show typically attracts more than 130,000 individuals from more than 125 countries, making the show the world’s premier automotive trade event where buyers and sellers meet to do business.

Do you see increasing examples of trademark rip-offs and illegal knock-off products showing up in online marketing and catalogs? SEMA is hearing more often from members experiencing intellectual property (IP) infringement problems. Protecting IP is something that many industries have struggled with for some time, and our industry is clearly no exception.

For a number of years now, SEMA has maintained policies and procedures to prevent the display of products, trademarks and trade dress that violate the IP rights of other SEMA exhibitors. Our goal has always been to ensure proper protection of the IP of industry members.

Preview of a New Report on the Side-by-Side Accessory Marketplace

Spurred by the growth in the number of utility task vehicles (UTVs) over the last decade, SEMA recently released a new report examining the size, types of accessories and accessory purchasing processes involved in this burgeoning powersports segment.

UTVs, also known as side-by-sides, evolved as an offshoot of the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) market. The earliest models were spawned by the need for greater cargo capacity for those who used three- and four-wheel cycles for work tasks on farms, job sites, golf courses and other areas where off-road performance was required but a fullsize pickup was unnecessary or too cumbersome.

Though Japan slipped from the number-three car consumer worldwide in 2011 to number five in 2012, love for automobiles remains very strong among the Japanese. Like Americans, the Japanese are holding on to their cars longer, which makes for a very interesting opportunity for the custom market. People have a desire to give their cars a facelift after a few years when they hold on to them, and that results in more sales for those engaged in the custom-car market. From swapping out wheels to updating headlights to modernizing the entertainment system, the aftermarket business in Japan is booming, and consumers continue to look for new products to enhance their driving experiences.