One of the main presenters at the recent SIMI Aftermarket Conference was Quentin Le Hetet, Country Director of GiPA UK, a company that specialises in providing market intelligence in the automotive sector. 

Quentin provided some interesting details of a survey that GiPA had undertaken in Ireland, which sought the views of 800 drivers. Asked about vehicle ownership, the survey revealed that the average age of vehicles was now 9.6 years old, up from 8.6 in 2024. Of these, 3% were identified as battery electric vehicles. Depressed new car sales and an aging car population was, Quentin said, very positive for the Irish aftermarket. 

Only 10% said they were likely to go all electric with their next vehicle. Concerns over price (56%), Charging (41%), the cost of electricity (32%), battery life (26%) were the main reasons for the reluctance to make the EV switch. Interestingly only 23% of those surveyed saw range as a concern. 

Asked about vehicle maintenance, just over a third said they would do basic tasks such as check oil and tyres, change wipers, etc. 8% of drivers would attempt basic servicing such as oil changes. More than a third of drivers are therefore regular buyers of some parts and accessories. Of these 57% said they buy from the internet, a figure down on previous years, while 77% said they would prefer to use a motor factor. 

When it comes to vehicle parts, both those being bought and those fitted by a garage, roughly 33% of drivers said they had some awareness of parts brands. A majority had little or no parts knowledge. However, 77% said they were aware of differences in parts quality and most indicated they would prefer to have parts that matched the original fitted.  

Other findings in the survey were that 33% of drivers said they were late for required maintenance on their vehicles, with this figure rising with vehicle age. The average number of visits to a workshop by each driver per year was 1.6, with ¼ of these going to a dealership and ¾ to an independent garage.