Differences between foreign and domestic nameplates will continue and have significant consequences for their aftermarket performances
Fort Wayne, Ind.—The performance of foreign and domestic nameplates within the DIFM and DIY sectors has been critical in shaping their shares of the light vehicle aftermarket. Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) share differences between nameplates will continue and have significant consequences for their aftermarket performances in the coming years, according to the latest Lang Aftermarket iReport.
Here are key highlights from the analysis.
Nameplates Move in Opposite Directions
Over the past 10 years (2012 to 2022), the car and light truck aftermarket product volume increased by more than $26 billion at user-price. However, foreign and domestic nameplates did not contribute equally to this gain.
Foreign nameplates (imports and transplants) increased in product share from less than 40% to over 53% of car and light truck product sales during this time.
The domestic nameplate product share moved in the opposite direction, falling from over 60% to about 47% of light vehicle product sales between 2012 and 2022. Accordingly, foreign and domestic nameplates made different contributions to changes in aftermarket product sales.
Foreign nameplates generated all aftermarket product growth between 2012 and 2022, reflecting their large increase in product share, while domestic nameplate product sales decreased by more than 1%.
Nameplate Differences in DIFM and DIY Markets
Foreign nameplates increased their share of the DIFM and DIY markets between 2012 and 2022. However, their share growth differed dramatically by market sector.
The share of domestic nameplates share fell in the DIFM and DIY markets over those 10 years, but their decline rate differed in each market.
DIFM Performance by Nameplates
Foreign nameplates generated over $28 billion in aftermarket product growth at user level over the past 10 years. The DIFM market was critical in the foreign nameplates’ aftermarket product increase.
Foreign Nameplates Surge in DIFM Share
The DIFM market share of foreign nameplates climbed by nearly half between 2012 and 2022. From less than 44% of the 2012 market, foreign nameplates topped a 60% share by 2022.
During this time, the DIFM market fueled nearly 95% of foreign nameplates’ product growth.
Domestic Nameplates Plunge in DIFM Share
The story was dissimilar for domestic nameplates. They decreased from over 56% of DIFM sales in 2012 to less than 40% by 2022. Accordingly, the domestic nameplates’ DIFM product volume fell by more than $6 billion during these years.
DIY Performance by Nameplates
The situation was different in the DIY market. Domestic nameplates hold a dominant share of DIY volume in the U.S. light vehicle market. Their DIY share declined slightly, from nearly 74% in 2012 to just under 73% by 2022.
DIY Fuels Domestic Nameplate Product Growth
Over those 10 years, the DIY market generated all the domestic nameplate product growth, reflecting the higher DIY rate among older vehicles compared to newer models and the higher DIY rate of domestic nameplates versus their foreign counterparts across all vehicle ages.
Foreign Nameplates’ DIY Sales Struggle
In sharp contrast to their rapid DIFM growth, foreign nameplates managed only a minor gain in DIY market share from 2012 to 2022. Foreign nameplates accounted for just over 26% of the 2012 DIY market and barely topped 27% share by 2022.
Accordingly, the DIY market accounted for less than 7% of foreign nameplates’ aftermarket product growth between 2012 and 2022.
Different Rates of DIFM and DIY Product Growth
Domestic and Foreign nameplates recorded different rates of DIFM and DIY product growth. Total car and light truck products climbed at a 2.5% annual rate between 2012 and 2022. DIFM product volume increased at a 2.4% annual pace, while the DIY market averaged 3.0% annual growth.
Over 70% of DIY product growth occurred after 2019, when COVID-19 boosted DIY auto repair at an unprecedented pace.
Nameplate Growth by Market
Foreign nameplates averaged over 6.4% annual DIFM product growth from 2012 to 2022, over twice the yearly DIFM market increase.
In sharp contrast, domestic nameplate DIFM product volume shrank at a 1.4% average annual pace from 2012 to 2022. Nameplate performance in the DIY market also differed significantly. Foreign nameplates managed only a $2.1 billion gain in DIY product sales.
Domestic nameplates, in contrast, increased $4.9 billion in DIY volume during this period. Most of this growth occurred from 2020 through 2022, when domestic nameplates averaged a sensational 6.5% yearly DIY growth rate.
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