Sales for the Automobile Aftermarket Reached $35 billion in the US

DUBLIN, Ireland--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c42745) has announced the addition of Automobile Aftermarket: The Market - US - August 2006 to their offering.

This report encompasses auto parts or products used to modify the appearance, performance and/or handling of automobiles, including light trucks/SUVs and passenger cars. The focus of this report is on non-original equipment products that are purchased for passenger vehicles.

With approximately $35 billion in 2006 sales, the automobile aftermarket offers a wide range of products in three segments: the accessories and appearance product segment is by far the largest, followed respectively by tires, wheels and suspension products; then racing and performance products.

Between 2001 and 2006, the market exhibited solid growth of 18% in inflation-adjusted dollars. This has been driven by largely positive factors related to the automobile industry, such as an increase in the number of registered motor vehicles, an increase in the median age of cars in operation and a corresponding decrease in the scrappage rate, and an increase in total miles driven. However, clouds have loomed on the horizon, as leasing is on the upswing and original equipment manufacturers have stepped up their competitive efforts.

Key demographic groups include Baby Boomers, with more time to devote to travel and leisure as they approach retirement age; and the “Tuner” culture, which is achieving a more mainstream status, as evidenced by a plethora of television programming. The increasingly diverse U.S. population demonstrates increased minority participation in car culture. These factors will also help drive the market forward.

In this report, we clearly identify the principal external factors driving or curtailing growth. Exclusive consumer research reveals the attitudes, needs and behavior of consumers, with analysis broken down both by demographic characteristics, and by segment.

Six years of specific sales data provide a factual and impartial presentation of the market as a whole. We also evaluate the performance of individual sectors in the market, and provides information about the major companies and brands. Using the SPSS forecasting package, we create a five-year forecast of U.S. retail sales, revealing potential opportunities for growth and product development.

This report focuses on market drivers, market size and trends, market segmentation, supply structure, and retail distribution.

Companies Mentioned
- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
- Bridgestone Corp.
- Michelin Group
- Continental AG
- Federal-Mogul
- Cooper Tire & Rubber
- Affinia Group Inc.
- Delphi Corp.
- Johnson Controls
- Honeywell
- Clarion
- JVC
- Kenwood
- Panasonic
- AutoZone Inc.
- Genuine Parts Company
- Advance Auto Parts Inc.
- The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack
- O'Reilly Automotive Inc.
- The International Group
- CSK Auto Inc.
- Uni-Select Inc.
- Fisher Auto Parts
- Replacement Parts Inc.
- The AAM Group
- Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance
- AIM/CMB Marketing
- Automotive Distribution Network
- Automotive Parts Associates Inc.
- CARQUEST Corporation
- Engine Pro/Engine Parts Groups Inc.
- Federated Auto Parts Distributors
- Independent Warehouse Distributors
- National Automotive Parts Association
- National Pronto Association
- TruStar
- Advanceautoparts.com
- AutoZone.com
- Autopartswarehouse.com
- JCWhitney.com
- Napaonline.com
- Oreillyauto.com
- PartsAmerica.com
- Rockauto.com
- SummitRacing.com
- Honda
- Toyota
- Best Buy
- Circuit City
- Costco
- Sears Holdings
- Wal-Mart
- Tire dealers
- Discount Tire Co.
- Les Schwab Tire Centers
- TBC Corp.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c42745