15 MILLION HOUSEHOLDS PLAN SPECIALTY-EQUIPMENT PURCHASES DURING SUMMER

Despite a tightening of household budgets, the SEMA Performance Parts and Accessories Demand Index (PADI) for April 2008 revealed that more than 15 million households, or 15% of aftermarket buyers, plan on purchasing industry products within the next three months.

Specialty accessories and appearance products were the most popular aftermarket items consumers were likely to purchase (10% or 10 million households), with wheels, tires and suspension components coming in second (8% or about 8 million households), followed by racing and performance products (7% or 7 million households).

When aftermarket buyers were asked what form their vehicles would take after customization, the most common answer in April was “general personalization” (41%), trailed by “off-road” (15%), “restoration” (13%) and “street performance” (13%).

SEMA began developing the PADI in January 2007. The SEMA PADI is designed to track anticipated demand among Americans for performance parts and accessories and is a weighted composite index set to an initial value of 100 based on demand levels between January 2007 and March 2007. During those months, between 25%–30% of consumers reported plans to purchase performance parts and/or accessories during the next 90 days.  In April 2008, the index improved by 15 points, or 35%, going from 42 in March to 56 the following month.

For more original SEMA market research, visit www.sema.org/research.