Shift toward DIY could affect aftermarket

According to a recent report by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc., (DAC) the driving and maintenance patterns of Canadians have changed as a result of the pandemic. With approximately 26 million light vehicles on the road in Canada, driving and maintenance trends, particularly DIY rates can have a significant impact on the aftermarket.

Increased vehicle complexity and the fact that consumers have had less time available for vehicle maintenance have caused DIY rates to consistently decline for most aftermarket products over the past few decades, a trend which could be changing as consumers find themselves with more time at home because of the pandemic. As a result of this new trend, “Evidence is emerging of a substantive uptick in DIY rates in the US aftermarket,” said Andrew King, Managing Partner of DAC.

This year will mark the first substantive shift toward DIY in recent decades. According to DAC modelling estimates, the DIFM market in the US aftermarket, which fell 8-10% in 2020, has largely held steady this year.

North of the border, the increase in DIY within the Canadian aftermarket is not as strong as the trends observed in the United States. “DAC tracks consumer maintenance patterns in Canada through our annual survey of 4,500 vehicle maintainers and a glance at the data indicates that while there was a slight uptick in DIY rates in select products, the increase was nowhere near as strong as in the US,” the company said in a recent press release. “As always, DIY rates are strongly correlated to vehicle age…but also vary greatly by consumer demographics, province, and vehicle type,” DAC added.

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