Total US automotive aftermarket industry size
- The US light-duty automotive aftermarket is a $405 billion industry (projected 2024) with a compound annual growth rate of 5.8% projected through 2026. Light-duty is a subset of the entire aftermarket 1.
- The entire US aftermarket, including light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, is projected at nearly $535 billion in 2024 and is projected to be around $574 billion in 2026 1.
- It includes over 500,000 individual businesses consisting of independent manufacturers, repair shops, distributors, marketers and retailers. These businesses serve all 290+ million light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles registered in the US today.
How large is the automotive aftermarket industry?
The entire automotive aftermarket is projected at nearly $535 billion in after-sales parts and accessories in 2024. It services approximately 292 million light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles in operation (VIO) in the US.
The industry breaks down into different categories and markets; one common way to categorize it is by automotive/light truck and medium/heavy duty vehicles1.
The Auto Care Association represents the entire $370+ billion industry, also referred to as the “auto care industry.”
How is the automotive industry defined?
The automotive industry isn’t strictly defined by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Instead, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics has grouped several NAICS classifications together to represent the automotive industry.
These classifications include, but aren’t limited to, motor vehicles manufacturing (NAICS 3361), motor vehicle bodies and trailer manufacturers (NAICS 3362), motor vehicle parts manufacturing (NAICS 3363), motor vehicle and parts wholesalers (NAICS 4231), motor vehicle and parts dealers (NAICS 441), new and used automobile dealers (NAICS 4411), other motor vehicle dealers (NAICS 4412), auto parts, accessories, and tire stores (NAICS 4413), and automotive repair and maintenance businesses (NAICS 8111).
Total light-duty aftermarket size, a subset of the entire aftermarket industry
According to the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) the U.S. light-duty aftermarket parts market will be over $400 billion (projected 2024) with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 6% projected through 2026. The $400 billion number is up 4% from $389 billion in 2023.
The AASA industry size includes the automotive segment only (light-duty) and does not count the medium- and heavy-duty vehicles segment. Both the Auto Care Association and AASA agree on the $400+ billion industry size, as published in the Joint Channel Forecast Model, which is published by both trade associations.
Note that the word “automotive” is used generically and includes trucks and SUVs. Light-duty refers to vehicles that are gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) classes up to Class 3. That is a maximum of 14,000 pounds.
Total size of the replacement tire market
According to Tire Business the size of the North American tire market was $59.7 billion in 20244.
According to Modern Tire Dealer (MTD) the replacement tire market for cars and trucks was a $57.7 billion market in 20245. Tires are a segment of the entire U.S. aftermarket. The replacement tire market breaks down into passenger cars at around $36.6 billion, commercial trucks at around $10 billion, light trucks at about $8.4 billion. off-road vehicles at around $2 billion and farm vehicles at $0.62 billion. MTD broke those numbers down by shipped units and there were 212 million replacement passenger tires, about 33 million replacement light truck tires and 21.2 million replacement million medium and heavy duty truck tires shipped in 20243.
The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) forecasted total tire shipments in 2025 at 340.4 million units, a 1% increase from the previous record of 337.3 million units in 2023.
Total size of the specialty equipment automotive market
According to the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA), the specialty equipment market, which is a subset of the entire automotive aftermarket, is projected at over $53 billion in 2025. The specialty equipment market is sometimes referred to as the as performance parts and accessories market1.
Total size of the US ecommerce automotive parts market
Online sales of auto parts and accessories in the US, excluding markeplaces and used parts, was projected to be at $22.3 billion in 2024 according to a report issued by Auto Care Association and AASA. Several aftermarket companies including Hedges & Company, contributed to that report. The report puts third-party sales by marketplaces like Amazon, eBay and other third-party platforms at $21.8 billion in 2024. The total for aftermarket ecommerce is projected at $44.1 billion in 2024.
Digital influence on auto parts and accessories sales is projected at $77 billion in 2023 in the US. That includes sales through all sales channels (traditional retail and online) that are influenced by the Internet in 2023 including online research by consumers, Google search, manufacturer websites, videos and reseller reviews.
Total size of the automotive aftermarket in Canada
According to Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada) the Canadian automotive aftermarket was at C$32.2 billion/US$23.7 billion of GDP in 2019. Employment has been growing at around 2.2% per year in recent years2. The Canadian aftermarket sector employed around 388,100 Canadians in 2015, up 2.2% from 379,800 the previous year. Ontario is the largest aftermarket province with 128,200 employees. Quebec and Alberta have the second and third largest total aftermarket employment with 87,400 and 55,100 employees, respectively. There are about 4,600 auto parts and accessories and tire store retailers in Canada in 2020. There are approximately 23,000 auto repair/service repair businesses in Canada. There were 25.6 million light vehicles registered in Canada in 2015, which was a 4.4% increase from the 24.5 million in 2014.
Total size of the automotive aftermarket in Mexico
The Mexican aftermarket is estimated to be just over US$4 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow at 5%-6% over the next several years and has approximately 30 million vehicles in operation (VIO) making it the world’s 11th largest fleet1. The Mexican automobile industry is expected to manufacture 5 million light vehicles for 13 makes, in over 30 automobile factories, by 2020.
Total size of the automotive aftermarket in China
The Chinese parts and repair aftermarket is projected at US$188 billion by 2020. It has the second largest VIO fleet in the world, behind the US, with around 139 million vehicles.*
Sources:
1 Auto Care Association, Hedges & Company, industry sources, Wikipedia, AASA
2 AIA Canada
3 Modern Tire Dealer (MTD)
4 Tire Business
5 Modern Tire Dealer
This was an interesting article about the automotive aftermarket. My dad is looking to get parts for his truck. I’ll share this article with him as he looks for auto parts.
Thanks for sharing information in your blog
The global automotive aftermarket is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 4.40% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2023. This projects consistent growth for the market. Valued at USD 824.82 Bn in 2017 and is expected to grow to reach an approximate value of USD 1,023.4 Bn by the end of 2023.