Ageing and electrification – two divergent trends shaping the future of Europe’s aftermarket

Amid the troves of data on Europe’s car parc from 2023 and the early months of 2024 currently being released, two broad truths are visible.

Firstly, the car parc is continuing to age at an ever-increasing rate. The continent’s average car age is now 12 years – up from 8.4 years in 2000. And in nearly every European region we support, the fastest growing age brackets are five years plus.

The pandemic has clearly had a significant and lasting impact on new car sales, which has since been compounded by a period of anaemic economic growth. Though sales are once again rising across most European markets, they remain 20% lower than in 2019, on average.

Secondly, the share of electric vehicles in both new and used car markets is growing across every European region. Battery EVs will hold 10% market share by 2025 - up from 1.4% in 2019 - and this is set to double again by 2030.

True, the picture across the continent is mixed, with EV sales accelerating far more rapidly in some territories than others. In the Netherlands, pure electric accounted for 29.6% of all new car registrations over the first nine months of 2023. But in the Czech Republic, the share was just 2.8% (though the total volume was still up 60% year-on-year). ?

These are two significant, divergent trends with big implications for the thousands of aftermarket businesses we support across Europe.

Obviously, an ageing parc should indicate more frequent and complex repairs. But with greater demand will come more competition, which will put pressure on prices. And workshops will need to stand out from the pack by investing in a better customer experience.

The rise of BEVs will have almost the reverse impact. With 90% fewer mechanical parts, workshops will see less demand for traditional services, but more for new skills, like battery management and software updates.

Taken together, the implications of these trends for Europe’s aftermarket are that workshops will need to adapt to service a broader variety of vehicle types than ever. They’ll need new equipment and training, and their businesses will need a front of house capable of competing with the increasingly slick and digitally powered offerings of OEM-owned chains.

Any change brings great challenges but also great opportunity. Europe’s aftermarket is undergoing its most disruptive period in decades, some of it stemming from regulatory changes.

We are monitoring and engaging with MEPs on 28 different live topics, including MVBER, Access to Data and End of Life Vehicle, as we work to promote and defend the industry’s rights.

As ever, we stand ready to support our customers on their journeys to update and adapt their businesses through training, support and the latest and most innovative parts and equipment available.

Our ever-growing workshop concepts network, which has reached 8,000 partners across 12 countries and representing just shy of 7% of the aftermarket, is at the forefront of this alongside the expansion of our training through LKQ Academy. We have the capacity to upskill 23,000 technicians in 2024.