Technology & Business Explored
By Adam Malik
Will Electric Vehicles kill the aftermarket as electric vehicles gain traction, resulting in fewer maintenance and repair opportunities for the industry?
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That’s not quite reality, explained Paul McCarthy, president and chief operating officer of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association.
It won’t necessarily be fewer but different opportunities. There will continue to be many pieces of an EV that require attention. They just may not be the ones many are used to in a traditional internal combustion engine.
“There’s been so much talk about electrification, it’s kind of sucked all the oxygen out of the room. We need to think about this in broader terms. And one of the broader terms and trends we think about in the aftermarket is the increasing vehicle content,” he said.
Increasing vehicle content is a big trend these days. There’s more technology in vehicles, they’re bigger, heavier and there are, generally speaking, more things involved with vehicles these days.
“And that bodes well for the aftermarket and for the future of the aftermarket,” McCarthy said during the AASA Global Summit in Coral Gables, Florida in February. “There’s more stuff. Every one of these things break. [They will need to come in for] repair, for calibration, for maintenance.”
Yes, the engine parts aren’t there. “They don’t have that complexity. It’s true. And this [leads to the] worry that means we won’t need an aftermarket,” McCarthy acknowledged.
However, that’s not what the stats bear out. Back in 2012, estimates of costs to maintain EVs was about half that of ICE vehicles. But as the years moved on, that gap narrowed. As more electric vehicles become in operation and a bigger sample size exists, research has found that, in 2021, there’s just a 15 per cent gap between the cost to repair an EV and an ICE.
“And actually, some of the studies are showing that EVs are costing more in the warranty period than equivalent ICEs,” McCarthy noted. “And it’ll be very interesting to see how this develops. We still have very few of them in the aftermarket.”
Article Credit to AutoService World.
What do you think of electric vehicles’ impact on the aftermarket? Do you think it will have a massive impact on your business? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like it and share it with your friends.
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