In February, the SEMA PADI improved 7 points, increasing from 36 in January to 43 this month. Youth market consumers, who are often referred to as Gen Y, helped to drive up the index by indicating plans to purchase racing and performance products more so than in January. And while purchase plans were down compared to this time last year, the jump from January to February does shed a little light on the “gloom and doom” often reported these days.
In February, 11% of adult American drivers (more than 12+ million households) indicated that they had plans to purchase aftermarket products sometime within the next three months. Racing and performance product and wheel, tire and suspension product purchase plans increased in February, and, depending on age demographic, the jump is more pronounced in some cases.
In February, 29% of consumers 18–24 years of age indicated plans to purchase specialty
equipment over the next three months.
Six percent of consumers said that they were likely to purchase wheels, tires and suspension components, while 7% said they were likely to purchase racing and performance products and 5% said they were likely to purchase specialty accessories and appearance products.
Over the last three months, on average, midsize cars (29%) were the most common target vehicles for enhancement or modification, followed by pickups (17%), compact cars (12%), small SUVs (12%), subcompact cars (10%), fullsize cars (9%), minivans (5%), large SUVs (3%) and 2% who either refused to answer the question or were unsure.
Over the last three months, on average, car dealerships (25%) were the most popular purchase destinations among those planning to enhance their vehicles, followed by the Internet and chain auto parts stores (21% and 20%, respectively) and independent parts stores (11%). — SEMA Research and Information Center
For more original SEMA market research, visit www.sema.org/research.