Preparing for the aftermarket of 2030

The next decade will see fiercer competition between franchised and independent dealers for aftersales customers, Dr Andrew Tongue, research director with the ICDP will tell delegates at AM's first Automotive Retail Congress.

Taking place at the Ricoh in Coventry on May 21, the event brings senior industry figures together to find out from experts how the sector will change in the next 10 years.

Exploring how emerging trends could impact aftersales volumes by 2030, Tongue will discuss the issues dealers need to take on board to remain competitive.

He said: "Against a backdrop of declining repair and maintenance volumes, competition between the OEM-franchised and independent aftermarket sectors is growing ever-fiercer as electrification, connectivity and eventually autonomy are added into the mix.  Looking ahead towards 2030, what will the coming changes to the aftermarket mean for customers, both individual and fleet, and for the providers of service?"

Tongue will tackle some difficult questions including whether trends among early adopters of EVs who have beenconscientious about maintenance, and loyal to the OEM-franchised networks,will continue as EVs hit the mainstream. An increasing proportion of vehicles will be connected and Tongue will discuss how connectivity can be harnessed to increase retention.

Other trends which could affect aftersales revenue include the rise of professional management companies which divorces the customer from the dealer making it harder for dealers to forge relationships and impacts retention. Tongue predicts that if service-inclusive leases and shared-use mobility fleets continue their growth, over 50% of the UK car parc could have its aftermarket needs under ‘professional management’ by 2030.

Crucially, Tongue will help the sector understand how far repair and maintenance volumes could fall by 2030, and what impact could this have on workshop and network viability, in a session that's packed with information and draws on the ICDP's extensive research.

Tickets for this not to be missed event for senior executives and industry decision makers can be booked at xxx when Dr Tongue, who leads ICDP's public policy work advising on developments in the legislative environment governing the selling, marketing and use of vehicles at the national and pan-European levels, will be joined by a host of experts including Professor David Bailey who will be discussing automotive retail after Brexit.