Making Sense of the Latest Economic, Automotive and Consumer Trends That Will Impact Your Business This Year and Beyond

Specialty-Automotive Companies Foresee Further Growth Through 2024

Shifts in the automotive industry and the overall U.S. economy greatly impact the specialty-equipment industry. To stay competitive, aftermarket businesses need to know what’s trending now and where markets are headed. The latest “SEMA Future Trends 2023” report provides industry planners a detailed analysis of key metrics for 2023 and beyond.

Due to supply issues, high interest rates and component shortages, new-vehicle sales in 2022 dipped below 2021 levels at 13.7 million. This is just over a million short of 2021 levels and around 3 million below the levels seen in 2019.

The specialty-equipment industry saw record-high sales over the past two years, as consumers continued to work on their vehicles during the pandemic. Although this record growth is beginning to level off and subside, sales remain solid and above pre-pandemic levels. The industry is also optimistic for the future. Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, supply-chain issues and rising costs, most companies within the industry expect sales, revenue and demand to stay the same or grow in 2023.

Last year was a record year for the specialty-equipment industry, with U.S. retail sales hitting $50.9 billion for the first time. But who are accessorizers? Accessorizers skew young. In 2021, more than half were under 40. Younger accessorizers are more likely to be enthusiasts and tend to make more complex modifications. Accessorizers are also more likely to own pickups, SUVs and sports cars than non-accessorizers. Pickup parts remain big business for our industry and accounted for 31% of retail sales in 2021. Accessorizers are also almost twice as likely to own recreational or offroad equipment as non-accessorizers.

Americans (and indeed car buyers throughout the world) love pickup trucks. What's more, they love accessorizing them—so much so that 49% of all late-model pickups are modified with specialty-equipment parts.

For the first time ever, specialty-equipment retail sales in the United States have topped $50 billion. Overall consumer spending on parts and accessories jumped 6.3% last year, pushing our industry’s market size to a record $50.9 billion in 2021. Consumers continue to show that they love their cars and accessorizing them. Although there are some economic headwinds on the horizon, our forecast remains optimistic. Sales may slow a bit in 2022, but a drop is not expected. As we get further past the pandemic and resolve supply-chain issues, we expect a return to the growth levels seen over the last decade.

Despite ongoing uncertainty, consumers continue to drive and spend on specialty-equipment parts. Industry performance over the past year has been strong, with sales and consumer demand both currently higher than in 2019. The disruption seen during the height of the pandemic has improved, and many companies that saw declines are reporting improvement. While higher prices, economic uncertainty, difficulty hiring and supply issues remain significant challenges, the specialty-equipment industry remains largely optimistic for the coming year.

With the final quarter of 2022 approaching and the pandemic largely receding, there’s good economic news for the aftermarket. According to recently released SEMA market research, the automotive specialty-equipment industry continues to enjoy strong growth and is well positioned for the coming year. That and other key takeaways can be found in the “State of the Industry—Spring 2022” report, now available for free download at www.sema.org/market-research.