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COVID-19 caused closing of more than 20,000 service bays

Pandemic resulted in record number of vehicles per bay during 2020, creating challenges and opportunities for the DIFM market

Tysons, Va.—The car and light truck population and the number of service bays in the U.S. are moving in opposite directions, according to a new analysis. Over the past five years, the car and light truck VIO has increased by more than 23 million, while the service bay population has decreased.

“COVID-19 caused the closing of more than 20,000 service bays across the U.S. last year. This resulted in a record number of vehicles per bay during 2020, creating challenges and opportunities for the Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) market,” reported the new “2022 Lang Aftermarket Annual.”

The following a few highlights from the study.

DIFM Market Growth
The car and light truck VIO in the U.S. grew by more than 23 million between 2015 and 2020, and the DIFM market sales recorded a $10 billion product increase from 2015 to 2019, before suffering a double-digit drop in volume last year due to COVID-19.

“This dynamic DIFM growth should have sparked a steady increase in service bays across U.S. However, the opposite occurred,” states the report.

Service Bay Paradox
As the volume of products installed by automotive technicians increased by approximately 12 percent at user-price between 2015 and 2019, the car and light truck service bay population fell.

There were 8,000 fewer service bays in the U.S. at mid-year 2019 compared to four years earlier. This bay loss occurred despite a 20-million increase in the number of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads.

COVID-19 caused nearly three time as many bays to close in the U.S. during 2020 as the total number of service bays shuttered in the previous four years (2015 to 2019).

Record Vehicles Per Bay
The falling number of service bays coupled with the increasing car and light truck population has continued to ratchet up the number of vehicles per service bay in the U.S.

In 2015, there were 215 cars and light trucks for each light vehicle service bay. As the bay count declined and the light vehicle population increased, the number of vehicles per bay continued to rise, reaching 229 by 2017.

Growth of Vehicle Per Bay
Over the next three years, the situation grew more critical. There were 240 cars and light trucks per bay in the U.S. in 2019, and a record-high vehicle count per bay by 2020, up nearly 50 percent from 2000.

VIO And Service Bay Trends
Lang Marketing expects that the number of service bays will continue to decline over the next several years, despite a continued growth in the population of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads.

As a result, there will be a new record-high number of cars and light trucks per each service bay in the U.S. by 2024, up approximately 25 percent from 2015.

Aftermarket Opportunities
With the increasing number of vehicles per bay and the growth of DIFM volume, service bays must become more productive to keep pace with the surging repair demands per bay.

This provides significant opportunities for suppliers of diagnostic and installation equipment that can speed up vehicle repair and for shop management programs, vehicle data software, and other means that can increase technician productivity.

Mobile Auto Repair
The growing number of vehicles per bay also provides a growth opportunity for mobile auto repair in the U.S.

As Lang Marketing presents in its new “2022 Lang Aftermarket Annual,” mobile repair has grown at a rate more than 10 times that of total light vehicle DIFM volume over the past four years.

Aftermarket Challenges
Technicians must continue to become more productive so that the shrinking number of bays can handle the growing volume of car and light truck repairs across the country.

Challenges for Independent Service Bays
Since the number of vehicles is increasing at a greater rate among independent bays than dealership repair bays, the independent sector must redouble its effort to become more productive to prevent losing DIFM repair business to dealerships.

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