Aftermarket, 28 billion sector resisting the electric transition
Only 5% of companies are converting and only one in four is investing in electrification - Lombardy the region with the most companies and turnover
3' min read
3' min read
The transition to electric vehicles, which is having serious repercussions on the entire Italian and European automotive industry, does not seem to affect the Aftermarket and spare parts sector for the time being. A sector that is worth EUR 28.1 billion, invoices 46.4% abroad, employs almost 400 thousand people and represents a supply chain with almost 29 thousand companies, mainly family-run, active in the production and sale of automotive spare parts.
Only five per cent of companies have embarked on the road to conversion to electric vehicles, while only one company in four has undertaken investments related to electric mobility. This is revealed by the research 'The Automotive Aftermarket sector...between tradition and innovation', presented in Turin, was carried out by the Tagliacarne Study Centre, on behalf of the Modena Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with the Turin Chamber of Commerce and with the support of Anfia.
Lombardy is the region with the highest concentration of turnover, around 8 billion and just under a third of the companies, followed by Emilia-Romagna and Veneto in second place (both with 3.7 billion) and Piedmont in third (3.6 billion).
The study shows that 41% of companies in the sector expect growth in their turnover, while one in three estimate an increase in their workforce. In view of the potential stop of endothermic engines by 2035, established skills and business models are holding out. Not least in view of the fact that a fleet of cars with combustion engines will continue to operate even after the deadline set by Europe.
Of particular concern, however, is competition from emerging countries and China, seen as the main obstacle to growth by 37.7% of companies. More than three quarters of the companies in the sector (77.4%) have not taken any steps to adapt to the electric market, and only 5.4% are converting to the electric market, while the remaining 17.2% are moving to other markets: 3.9% are doing so by changing their product type and 13.3% by keeping the same product as before.
