Crossover Utility Vehicles (CUVs) are the fastest-selling and most common vehicle on the road in the United States today. At the end of 2021, they represented 24% of all registered passenger vehicles, and are projected to represent almost half of all new vehicles sold by 2029. They’re also a significant part of the specialty-equipment aftermarket, accounting for more than $7.7 billion in specialty parts sales in 2020. While they are a very diverse segment, there’s plenty of opportunity to be found for specialty-equipment businesses, including a growing off-road niche.

Vehicles from the early ’70s and later have traditionally been considered “classics,” with the idea of ’73 (pre-gas crisis, pre-catalytic converters) as reasonable cutoffs. However, the landscape has changed. More and more, classics have expanded to include vehicles from the ’70s and ’80s. These emerging classics are sparking the same nostalgic feelings among drivers looking to recapture a piece of their youth as they did to consumers a generation earlier. While the traditional areas of the classic vehicle space aren’t going anywhere, newer classic models are becoming more important for the industry.

When the crossover utility vehicle (CUV) first appeared in the mid-’90s, it seemed like the push-me-pull-you of the automotive market—not quite car and not truly SUV. As such, it raised several questions: Could consumers ever embrace a vehicle whose purpose wasn’t clearly defined and whose styling, quite honestly, wasn’t all that exciting? And, if they did, how would they utilize such an oddity? As a commuter car? A grocery getter or cargo hauler? Some sort of neo station wagon or minivan?

Light trucks (pickups, SUVs, CUVs and vans) have long been a cornerstone of the specialty-equipment aftermarket. Pickups and Jeeps in particular are key enthusiast market segments. But a newer segment, CUVs, has emerged as the most common vehicle type for Americans to purchase. While many of these crossover utility vehicles are used strictly as the default family vehicle, some enthusiasts see their potential to support their outdoor and even off-road hobbies. This opens up a new area of opportunity for the industry to provide accessories and upgrades for the growing CUV community. For more information on the industry, visit www.sema.org/research.

Not to be confused with the annual “SEMA Market Report,” the “State of the Industry Report” is released biannually in the spring and fall and details specific manufacturer and retailer data, sales trends by product category, and popular retail channels and vehicle segments. It explores the industry from a company perspective rather than at the consumer level.

The ongoing supply-chain disruption has affected businesses in many ways: shipping delays, production issues, inability to find suppliers and increased costs, to name a few. However, the worst of the effects have likely passed. Most issues, including transportation delays and supply shortages, should improve throughout the year and return to more normal levels by the end of 2022. However, some elevated prices may linger into 2023. See “The Supply-Chain Breakdown” on p. 110.

After the ups and downs of the past two years, it’s reassuring to know that consumer spending in the automotive sector continued at a healthy pace. In fact, the sector remains the single biggest retail segment in the United States, accounting for 20%—more than $1.2 trillion—of retail spending in 2020, according to the latest “2021 Retail Trends Report” from SEMA Market Research.

Anyone following the headlines knows that the automotive industry is entering an era of transformation, with virtually every major automaker now intent on vehicle electrification. Add to that the rapid deployment of advanced driver-assistance and related autonomous driving technologies, and it’s easy to believe that a brave new world of green transportation is barreling toward us. But are the headlines overly optimistic? How fast will industry transformation come? What challenges or opportunities will today’s emerging technologies pose for the aftermarket?

While the SEMA Market Research department is widely recognized for its annual “SEMA Market Report,” other lesser-known services it offers include consulting to help members understand what data is available to them—even beyond what is provided directly in its reports—and their potential business opportunities based on that data.

Even in the face of a pandemic that ravaged livelihoods and economies globally, the automotive specialty-equipment market somehow managed to continue its steady growth trend, up to $47.89 billion in 2020—a 4% increase over 2019, according to the recently released “2021 SEMA Market Report.” Slower growth is expected to continue into 2022 as more businesses reopen and compete for consumer dollars before taking off again in late 2022 or early 2023.