Tens of thousands of service bays closed across the U.S. from 2013 to 2023, resulting in a surge in light vehicles per bay
Fort Wayne, Ind.—Over the past 10 years, the car and light truck VIO (vehicles in operation) has climbed by more than 36 million, but the service bay population has steadily dropped. According to the latest Lang Aftermarket iReport, tens of thousands of service bays closed across the U.S. from 2013 to 2023, accelerated by Covid-19.
This resulted in a surge in light vehicles per bay, creating challenges and opportunities for the Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) market. The following are key takeaways from Lang’s report.
DIFM Market Gains
Over 36 million light vehicles were added to the nation’s VIO between 2013 and 2023. The Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) market increased by $15 billion in products from 2013 to 2019 at user-price before experiencing a double-digit decrease in 2020 due to Covid-19.
In the last three years, the DIFM market has staged an “unprecedented” recovery, up 20% in product sales at user-price. This should have sparked a boom in service bays across the U.S. However, the opposite occurred.
Larger DIFM Market but Fewer Bays
As the volume of products installed by automotive technicians increased by approximately 21% between 2013 and 2019, the car and light truck service bay population fell. There were 9,000 fewer service bays in the U.S. at mid-year 2019 compared to six years earlier.
This bay loss occurred despite a 31 million increase in the number of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads. COVID-19 in 2020 set into motion several factors that steadily worsened the service bay crisis in the U.S.
Vehicles per Bay Reach New Record Each Year
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 across the U.S. In 2013, each light vehicle service bay had and average of 209 cars and light trucks.
As the bay count declined and the light vehicle population increased, the number of vehicles per bay shot up, reaching 240 by 2019. Over the next four years, the situation grew more critical, prompted by Covid-19. By 2023, the number of vehicles per bay was up over 50% from 2000.
Foreign Vehicles Surge per Bay
Foreign vehicles per bay increased by more than 200% in 2023 compared to 2000. They generated all vehicle growth per bay as the domestic nameplate population has steadily decreased since 2000.
VIO And Service Bay Trends
Lang Marketing expects the number of service bays to continue to fall over the next few years despite continued growth in the nation’s VIO. Accordingly, there will be a record-high number of vehicles per service bay in the U.S. by 2025, up approximately 25% since 2013.
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 of increasing technician productivity.
Mobile Auto Repair
The expanding 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 2025 Lang Aftermarket Annual, Mobile Repair has grown at an annual rate more than 10 times that of total light vehicle DIFM volume over the past seven years.
Aftermarket Challenges for Independent Bays
Automotive 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 nationwide. Since the number of vehicles is increasing at a greater rate among Independent (non-Dealer) bays than Dealer bays, the Independent sector must redouble its productive-growth efforts to prevent the loss of billions of dollars in repair business to Dealer bays.
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