The Canadian Automotive Aftermarket’s Future Is Bright

According to the Automotive Industries Association (AIA) of Canada’s newly published 2014 Outlook Study, the aftermarket’s future looks bright.

The new vehicle market set an all-time sales record in Canada in 2013 having sold 1.74 million light vehicles across the country. Although dealerships were the most popular choice for automotive maintenance of these new vehicles, holding a 36.6 per cent share of the service and repair market, this success will ripple through to the aftermarket as these vehicles age in the next decade.

Though many Canadians purchased new vehicles in 2013, consumers are now keeping their vehicles longer such that the average age of a light vehicle in Canada is 9.3 years. As these 2014 model year vehicles age over the next couple of decades and require an increasing amount of maintenance and repairs not covered by warranty, they are likely to bring business to the aftermarket industry.

In 2013, aftermarket parts and labour sales totaled $19.1 billion, a number that is expected to grow to $21 billion by 2017. This expected increase can be attributed to the increasing life expectancy of new vehicles, the expanding Canadian vehicle fleet, and the aging of the record volumes of new vehicles sold in recent years. The majority of this growth will be seen in the service segment of the industry as the increasing complexity of vehicles forces car owners to seek professional maintenance services.