Lang Aftermarket iReport: Domestic nameplates dominate ‘Do-It-Yourself’ product volume

“Domestic nameplate vehicles hold a dominant share of Do-It-Yourself (DIY) product volume, despite their declining product strength across the overall aftermarket. Domestic nameplates account for a 50% larger product share of the DIY sector than they represent of the light vehicle Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) market.

“Although foreign nameplates are surging in car and light truck product sales, they represent less than 27% of the DIY product share in the U.S.”

— Jim Lang, publisher, Lang Aftermarket iReport

Domestic Nameplates Dominate the DIY Market

Domestic nameplate cars and light trucks hold a dominant share of the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) market across the U.S. Domestic nameplates generated over $16 billion in 2018 DIY product sales, representing nearly three-quarters of last year’s light vehicle DIY market.

DIY Share of Total Aftermarket

To put the DIY market into perspective, Do-It-Yourself sales totaled just over 19% of 2018 light vehicle aftermarket product volume. Since 2000, DIY product share peaked at 23% of the 2007 light vehicle market in the U.S.

Foreign Nameplate DIY Volume

Foreign nameplate cars and light trucks generated much lower 2018 DIY volume than domestic vehicles, an estimated $6 billion, or approximately one-quarter of DIY light vehicle annual product volume.

While the Do-It-Yourself market accounted for 27% of the domestic nameplate 2018 aftermarket sales and 19% of total aftermarket products for light vehicles, the DIY market comprised a much smaller 11% share of aftermarket product purchases for foreign nameplates.

Replacement Parts DIY Market

Domestic nameplate cars and light trucks represent a disproportionate share of DIY Replacement Parts volume.

Lang Marketing estimates domestic nameplates accounted for over three-quarters of DIY Replacement Parts sales during 2018, stronger than the domestic nameplate DIY share across all products.

This reflects the above-average age of domestic nameplate cars and light trucks on U.S. roads (compared to foreign nameplate vehicles) as well as the large domestic nameplate share of light trucks. DIY activity has increased strength among older vehicles and light trucks, with both factors boosting the DIY performance of domestic nameplates.

Accessory DIY Market

DIY Accessory volume is growing at a faster annual pace among foreign nameplates, particularly cars, than it is for domestic vehicles.

Foreign nameplate cars and light trucks generated a portion of light vehicle 2018 Accessory DIY volume that was larger than their overall aftermarket DIY product share.

Chemicals DIY Market

Chemicals have declined moderately in DIY share over the past five years, with foreign nameplates recording an above-average share of the DIY Chemical aftermarket.

DIFM Difference

Domestic nameplates held a much smaller share of 2018 Do-It-For-Me (DIFM) parts than they did in the DIY sector: 48% versus 74%. Domestic nameplates fell one-seventh in DIFM product share between 2013 and 2018.

In contrast, foreign nameplates generated a much larger 2018 DIFM share (52%) than their DIY market share (26%). The Do-It-For-Me product share of foreign nameplates rose from 44% to 52% between 2013 and 2018; while their DIY share gain was less than one-tenth as much.

Six Major Takeaways

• Domestic nameplate cars and light trucks held a dominant share of DIY 2018 volume in the U.S., combining for nearly three-quarters of the 2018 car and light truck DIY market, at user-price. Foreign nameplates represented only about half as much 2018 DIY product share as their share of the DIFM light vehicle market.
• Domestic nameplates generated nearly three times more 2018 DIY product volume than did foreign nameplates (Imports and Transplants).
• DIY market volume represented less than one-fifth of total car and light truck 2018 product sales and an even smaller 11% share of foreign nameplate product volume for the year.
• Domestic nameplate cars and light trucks generated over 75% of 2018 DIY Replacement Parts volume, stronger than their DIY share across all other products.
• Foreign nameplates increased their DIY Accessory volume at a faster pace than did domestic light vehicles over the past five years, led by foreign nameplate passenger cars. Light truck foreign nameplate DIY Accessory sales also climbed at a strong pace.
• Domestic nameplate cars and light trucks accounted for approximately a one-third greater share of 2018 DIY products than they did of DIFM product sales during 2018. The opposite was true for foreign nameplates, which represented approximately a 70% greater 2018 DIFM product share compared with their DIY product share.

Copyright 2019 by Lang Marketing Resources, Inc.

NOTE: Special thanks to publisher Jim Lang for granting us permission to publish the Lang Aftermarket iReport.