Aging fleet fuels aftermarket expansion

Vehicles four years and older may make up less than 80 per cent of the vehicle population, but they generate more than 96 per cent of aftermarket product and service volume in the United States, a recent report found.

Lang Marketing’s latest report, Aftermarket Vehicles, Not Total VIO, Drive Market Growth, argued that that aftermarket success hinges on these older vehicles, not the total vehicles-in-operation (VIO), and highlights how their characteristics — population growth, age and nameplate mix — are reshaping the industry.

Between 2019 and 2024, more than 15 million aftermarket vehicles were added to the VIO, an average annual increase of 1.5 per cent, nearly double the growth rate of all light vehicles. Lang projected this faster growth will continue through the end of the decade.

These vehicles are also significantly older than the overall fleet, averaging two years more than all cars and light trucks. That gap has widened over the past decade as the average age of aftermarket vehicles has grown 20 per cent faster than the overall VIO, a trend expected to persist for years.

The mix of vehicles is shifting too. In 2014, domestic nameplates accounted for about 60 per cent of cars and light trucks at least four years old. Today, foreign nameplates represent more than half, boosting aftermarket revenue because repairs on foreign vehicles typically cost more due to higher parts prices, brand-specific components and greater reliance on professional service rather than DIY repairs.

Lang noted that these dynamics are critical for forecasting growth, especially for ICE-powered vehicles, which dominate aftermarket product and service volume.

“Accordingly, the nation’s aftermarket vehicle population and its expected changes are key elements driving the growth and nature of the light vehicle aftermarket in the coming years, especially the continuing domination of ICE vehicles in product and service volume,” the report said.

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