INDUSTRY NEWS
Report: Specialty-Equipment Industry Remains Strong Despite Disruptions
The latest “SEMA State of the Industry Report 2021” describes an automotive aftermarket that remains resilient despite considerable headwinds.
Despite ongoing disruptions in the economy, 70% of automotive specialty-equipment manufacturers report sales growth over the past year, according to the new “SEMA State of the Industry Report 2021.”
Supply-chain disruptions are affecting the automotive sector, and new-vehicle production is expected to be 7.7 million units lower in 2021 than in 2020. However, most businesses are maintaining a positive outlook, with more than 80% expecting their sales to be stable or growing over the coming year.
Key findings include:
- Delays in shipping and the ongoing microchip shortage have left automakers unable to keep up with consumer demand, pushing the average price of a new vehicle to an unprecedented $45,000 in September 2021.
- Sales in the pickup, sports car, SUV and classic vehicle segments continue to be strong, with many businesses once again seeing double-digit sales growth this year.
- Supply-chain disruptions are starting to create uncertainty. In the spring of 2021, 70% of specialty-equipment manufacturers and 75% of distributors expected their sales to grow over the coming year, but those percentages have fallen to 58% and 52%, respectively.
For more on the state of the U.S. automotive specialty-equipment market, download the “SEMA State of the Industry Report 2021” for free today at www.sema.org/research.
Legendary Racer Bob Bondurant Passes Away
Bob Bondurant, who passed away last November at age 88, founded a driving school that has taught the principles of performance driving to more than half a million students.
Legendary American race-car driver and racing instructor Bob Bondurant passed away on November 12, 2021, at his home in Paradise Valley, Arizona, at 88.
Bondurant was introduced to racing by his father, John Roper Bondurant, at the age of 8. He began his racing career piloting flat-track vehicles as a teenager. At 23, he began racing in Morgan Plus Fours before moving on to Corvettes and later the legendary Shelby Daytona Coupe, in which he won the World Sportscar Championship’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with Dan Gurney in 1964. Bondurant also raced in Formula 1 for Ferrari before moving to Can-Am with Peter Revson in the Lola T70 Mark II.
Following a 1967 crash, Bondurant retired from racing and the following year opened the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. Originally located in Orange County, California, the school later relocated to Arizona. The school has taught the copyrighted “Bondurant Method” to more than 500,000 students, including actor Paul Newman, who began his own racing career at the Bondurant school. Sold to a group of investors in 2018, it continues teaching aspiring racers as the Radford Driving School.
