The positive economic development in the parts industry and the independent parts trade will continue for the rest of the year. A recent member survey conducted by the Gesamtverband Autoteilehandel e. V. (GVA) revealed that an average of nine out of ten parts dealers expect sales to increase for 2011 as a whole, despite the fact that last year was already a good one. This was reported by GVA President Hartmut Röhl in an interview in the current issue of the trade journal kfz-betrieb.



According to this, the German Motor Vehicle Industry Association (ZDK) is also expecting good workshop capacity utilization in the second half of the year. Although there is a slight skepticism in the industry as to whether the sales rally can continue, it is crucial that the parts trade and service companies continue to report good demand, according to Röhl.



"In some cases, we are even seeing that the high demand from the aftermarket for certain components cannot be sufficiently satisfied, as car manufacturers are "buying up" the production capacities of automotive suppliers for original equipment due to the very good new car sales, especially in the Asian markets," explains Röhl.



The independent parts trade would therefore become even more important as an alternative to the vehicle manufacturers' parts distribution networks. The service companies and ultimately also the consumers must also be able to choose from whom they purchase which spare parts in the long term: "Neither the parts industry, nor the workshops and certainly not the consumers can wish for a monopoly of the vehicle manufacturers, because only fair competition guarantees controlled prices," reports Röhl. The vehicle manufacturers' "multi-brand parts strategy" is completely implausible, as individual manufacturers simultaneously postulate that only their spare parts are right for their vehicles.



Spare parts are "original spare parts" if they comply with the specifications and production standards prescribed by the vehicle manufacturer for the production of parts for the construction of a vehicle, as stipulated in the "Aftermarket Regulation" (EU) No. 461/2010. It is therefore not decisive who manufactures these parts: the vehicle manufacturer or the parts industry. Without the contribution of the well-known suppliers, almost all of whom are organized in the GVA, no vehicle would roll off the production line, because around 80 percent of the parts in a new vehicle come from suppliers, the GVA President explained to the Würzburg trade journalists in an exclusive interview.



"kfz-betrieb" is the most widely read trade magazine in the automotive industry and has been informing the automotive trade and service sector for 100 years. "kfz-betrieb" is the official organ of the German Motor Trade (ZDK), the professional interest group for around 38,000 car dealerships and workshops. Daily news from the entire automotive industry is available at www.kfz-betrieb.de and in the daily newsletter. The parent company Vogel Business Media is one of Germany's leading providers of specialist information with around 100 trade journals and 60 websites as well as numerous international activities. Its headquarters are in Würzburg. The company celebrates its 120th anniversary in 2011.