Expenditure on Automotive Services is Expected to Show Some Sluggish Growth in 2006 and 2007, in Line with the General Slowdown in the UK New Car Market
DUBLIN, Ireland--Jan. 1, 20069, 2006--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c31146) has announced the addition of Automotive Services Market Report 2005 to their offering.The value of the UK automotive services industry is estimated to have reached GBP 13.76bn in 2005, up by 1.9% on 2004 and 9% higher than in 2001. Expenditure on automotive services has been boosted by the buoyancy of the UK new car market and by the steady increase in the number of cars on the road.
The automotive services sector consists of car servicing and mechanical repairs, car body repairs, and breakdown and recovery services. Car servicing and mechanical repairs is the largest of these sectors and was also the fastest growing between 2001 and 2005. A range of organisations operate under the general heading of car servicing and mechanical repairs, including franchised car dealers, independent garages, garage chains, autocentres, fast-fit centres and mobile service units. Car body repairs is the second-largest sector of the market. The cost of both new and used cars has fallen over the past 10 years and this has placed limits on the amount that car owners and insurance companies are willing to spend on bodywork repairs. Breakdown and recovery services is the smallest sector of the market. This is a fairly mature sector and the leading suppliers are extending the range of services they offer in order to increase their revenues.
Changes to the EU's block exemption ruling for cars has created the potential for increased competition in the market for vehicle servicing and repairs. The after-sales market has been opened up, with a change to the rules linking new car sales and servicing. Dealers still have to ensure that customers' cars are serviced and repaired to manufacturer-approved standards, but they no longer have to do it themselves. Independent garages and roadside assistance organisations now have much greater access to technical information, including diagnostic equipment and software.
The three sectors of the market have been affected by a number of factors since 2001. Although the number of new cars on the road has increased, recommended service intervals have lengthened due to the higher quality and reliability of components, and this has impacted on the car servicing companies. Within the car body repairs sector, the desire of insurance companies to write off the rapidly declining value of older cars rather than fund their repair partly controls the value of the market. The vehicle breakdown and recovery market has benefitted from increases in the number of cars on the road. However, the basic costs of their services are low as increased reliability in new cars makes breakdowns less likely.
Expenditure on automotive services is expected to show some sluggish growth in 2006 and 2007, in line with the general slowdown in the UK new car market. Thereafter, and up to 2010, growth rates are predicted to increase with car servicing and repairs continuing to be the most buoyant sector.
Topics covered in the report include:
- Market Definition - Market Size - Industry Background - Competitor Analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats - Buying Behaviour - Current Issues - The Global Market - Forecasts - Company Profiles - Consumer Confidence Companies mentioned: - Arriva PLC - Dixon Motors Ltd - Inchcape PLC - Lookers PLC - Pendragon PLC - Reg Vardy PLC - Arnold Clark Automobiles Ltd - The Automobile Association - Green Flag Group Ltd - RAC PLC - Halfords Group PLC - Kwik-Fit Group Ltd - Stapleton's (Tyre Services) Ltd - Nationwide Accident Repair Services PLC - UGC Ltd
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