Study also reveals a key challenge for the independent aftermarket when it comes to advanced driver assistance systems
New York—Driven by rising repair costs, 57% of consumers globally now prefer to buy replacement parts from the independent aftermarket over original equipment (OE) parts, an increase of 14 percentage points year on year.
At the same time, real spending on service, maintenance and repairs fell in most markets, with only the US and Mexico showing nominal spending increase, driven by price inflation, not higher consumption.
Roland Berger’s “Automotive Aftermarket Pulse 2025,” which surveyed 600 repair shops and 6,000 private car owners in 13 of the world’s most important automotive markets: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, the UK and the USA, found that in 11 out of 13 markets surveyed, consumers spent less in real terms on vehicle maintenance and repair in 2025 than in 2024, with convenience services now a key differentiator. Vehicle pick-up and drop-off services have gained hugely in importance.
The study reveals a key challenge for the independent aftermarket when it comes to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS): 47% of repair shops had to turn down ADAS-related repairs in the past 12 months due to insufficient capabilities. The main reason cited by 58% of surveyed shops was a lack of calibration equipment.
While B2C customers are increasingly turning away from online purchasing — 25% of consumers who have bought automotive parts online would not do so again — online sourcing is booming in the B2B sector.
Over 80% of repair shops in markets such as the US, Germany and the UK already purchase a significant proportion (>20%) of their spare parts online. The majority expect this share to increase further in the next two to three years.
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