Mike Schmidt Managing Editor Mattie Gorman Associate Editor Josh Smith Assistant Editor Barry Hoyland Contributing Editor Editor's Note By Erica Schueller, Editor Erica@VehicleServicePros.com Let’s get big-picture for just a bit. While you’re in your shop day in and day out servicing vehicles, there are current and future market trends that will impact your business. Ultimately as the landscape shifts, this also will dictate the tools and equipment you need for vehicle maintenance and repairs. At ETI ToolTech 2016, Mark Seng, global aftermarket practice leader for IHS Automotive, shared insights on vehicle trends we can expect to see in the future: Œ Light duty vehicle sales are hitting record levels in the U.S., and remain strong around world. Globally in 2015, nearly 88 million light duty vehicles were sold, with 17.5 million units sold in the U.S. (The first time the U.S. topped that number in sales since 2001). And, sales are on pace to break 100 million units worldwide by 2017 – with the bulk of those sales in China. The U.S. vehicle mix continues to shift as consumer preferences evolve. The market has seen an increase of crossover utility vehicles (CUVs) on the road, with one quarter of U.S. sales, and consumer demand indicates the heavy adoption of this body style will continue. Consumers also have continued the shift of purchasing imports over domestic vehicles. It’s important to understand consumer preferences in the aftermarket, since these are the vehicles that will be out of warranty a few years down the road, where they’ll end up at your shops for service. Ž The aftermarket repair sweet spot is changing as vehicles continue to age. This comes as no surprise: the age of vehicles on the road continues to rise, with the average age of U.S. vehicles being 11.6 years old. And, consumers are hanging onto their purchased vehicles longer, with a two-year average increase from 2006 to 2016. OEM mega platforms are emerging and will drive global vehicle equivalents. There has been an increased focus on standardizing specs of the vehicle such as the engine compartment, front and rear underbodies, etc. This suggests that more and more vehicles will share components around the world. Technological complexity is coming quickly, on multiple fronts. The increasing focus on vehicle technology will most greatly impact how you repair vehicles, and what future tools you’ll need in the shop. To achieve government-mandated fuel efficiency standards, OEs will continue to look to the traditional internal combustion engine, with features such as turbochargers, cylinder deactivation, AWD disconnect and more, combined with lightweighting vehicle bodies. In particular OEs will focus on gasoline direct injection (GDI) and start/stop because these technologies are currently the most cost-efficient to implement on vehicles. There’s also the continual evolution of vehicle electronics as we move toward vehicle autonomy, with advanced driver assistance systems. Increased vehicle sensors for safety features such as lane departure warning systems or back-up cameras are driven by control modules that will require increased knowledge of electronics and diagnosing capabilities for technicians. PTEN Editorial Advisory Board Technicians John Harris, Brooks-Huff Goodyear, Timonium MD Eric Moore, DeMary Trucks, Columbus, OH Lou Fort, K.A.R.S. Inc., Huntingburg, IN Shop Owners Phil Fournier, Phil's Auto Clinic, Hemet, CA Edwin Hazzard, Automotive Tech Systems, Newburgh, NY Barry Hoyland, VSSCA, Camarillo, CA Dave Lang, Independent Vehicle Service, Albuquerque, NM Pete Rudloff, Pete’s Garage Inc., Newark, DE Equipment Manufacturers Alan Sipe, Knipex Tools Chad Schley, Schley Products/SP Tools Jim O’Hara, Clore Automotive Ed Lipscomb, Bosch Automotive Technology trends of the modern vehicle The aftermarket must make strides to keep up with the increasingly global vehicle market, as technologies continue to evolve. 8 PTEN MAY 2016 VehicleServicePros.com
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