According to the 2024 China Automotive Aftermarket Annual Development Report, three significant trends in the automotive aftermarket can be observed: First, the main consumer has changed. The specific performance is in three aspects: first, the decision-making group has expanded from a single car owner to the family members of the car owner; second, the proportion of post-90s car owners has increased; Third, the number of female car owners is also increasing. Finaly, car companies and other related enterprises are increasingly paying attention to the role of car clubs, and are committed to providing more diversified, personalized services that are close to the daily needs of car owners. These measures aim to stimulate the potential value of car owners, enhance user stickiness, and ultimately achieve effective drainage and conversion to other value-added services. Finally, the aftermarket has become increasingly diverse in the form of activities, including automobile events, classic car gatherings and car culture spaces, and other emerging events have risen rapidly, which has become one of the key driving forces for the development of the aftermarket industry.
Status quo and trend of service terminals
Diversification of service business: In addition to traditional maintenance and maintenance, car beauty, modification and other businesses have also developed to a certain extent. The overall demand for car beauty has declined, but the demand for personalization such as car coating film has increased significantly, and the market size of China's car coating film will be about 4.48 million rolls in 2023.
Diversification of competitors:
Directly operated stores of car companies: With the goal of improving the "owner retention rate" and "owner activity", we provide diversified services such as door-to-door maintenance and organizing car owner activities to enhance the user experience.
The importance of online channels is highlighted: "Internet natives" have become an important part of the car owner group, and the proportion of after-car users using online channels is rising, with 66% of after-car users using online channels in 2024, and apps/mini programs are the most popular, accounting for 69.7%.
Changes in consumer subjects: the decision-making body has been generalized from car owners to car owners' families, and the proportion of post-90s car owners has increased, and the proportion of female car owners has increased. In the age distribution of car owners in the independent third-party aftermarket, the post-90s generation and beyond accounted for 23% in 2023, and the trend is increasing.
Distributors / 4S stores: Facing the pressure of intensifying market competition, it is necessary to optimize the store business portfolio, create cost-effective "rigid demand" business to attract traffic, and improve the profitability of value-added business. Some brand 4S stores are under operating pressure, and even have closed or shrunk.
Independent after-sales stores: Large chain brands such as Tuhu Car Maintenance use online and offline integrated marketing to strengthen differentiated advantages such as cost performance, efficiency and one-stop service to expand customers. However, individual stores are facing greater operational pressure, and some choose to focus on their business based on the target group, and join large chain brands through franchise or authorization.
Figure: 2018-2023 Development Status and Trends of Different Categories of Car Coating Films in Chinese Mainland (Unit: 10,000 Rolls)
Future Trends
Service model innovation: Intelligent services have become a new growth point, such as the active OTA upgrade activities of mainstream car companies in 2023, and the importance of intelligent connected services in the aftermarket will continue to increase in the future.
Flat channels: The distribution/distribution channels of the automotive aftermarket will develop towards flattening, and the SKUs of new energy auto parts will be greatly reduced, which is expected to be fully incorporated into the official control system to form a flat and efficient distribution system.
Supply chain optimization: Automakers and large chain brands will strengthen the construction of their own supply chain systems, increase the layout of front-end warehouses and logistics capabilities, and improve efficiency with the help of digital means.
Diversification and technological innovation at the production end:
Diversification of the production side: auto parts companies have accelerated the penetration of the aftermarket market, especially in the market segments such as electric parts and intelligent parts. Non-automotive industry chain enterprises have entered the aftermarket based on existing products, such as the leading small household appliance brands to accelerate the layout of the automotive electronics market.
Technological innovation: New technologies such as big data and AI models will be more widely used in the fields of automobile marketing, vehicle diagnosis, vehicle maintenance, financial and insurance program calculation, and second-hand car valuation.
Automotive aftermarket service terminals are developing in the direction of more efficient, convenient and personalized, and continue to evolve with technological progress and changes in market demand. In the future, innovation and development in this field will continue to receive attention.
Related:
Analysis of the 2024 China Automotive Aftermarket Annual Development Report (1)
Analysis of the 2024 China Automotive Aftermarket Annual Development Report (2)
Analysis of the 2024 China Automotive Aftermarket Annual Development Report (3)
Analysis of the 2024 China Automotive Aftermarket Annual Development Report (4)
Analysis of the 2024 China Automotive Aftermarket Annual Development Report (5)
Analysis of the 2024 China Automotive Aftermarket Annual Development Report (6)
