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SOFT trading conditions in some parts of the automotive aftermarket do not appear to have dampened demand for exhibition space at the biennial Expo to be staged by the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA).

So far exhibitors have booked 90 per cent of the available space for the twin-exhibition Expo, a trade-only event open between April 6 and 8 next year at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.

The Expo will again combine an automotive aftermarket exhibition with a collision repair exhibition.

Numbers game: The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association Expo so far has 360 exhibitors confirmed for the April, 2017 event.

Numbers game: The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association Expo so far has 360 exhibitors confirmed for the April, 2017 event.

“As we stand, we have 360 confirmed exhibitors, including the internationals, and that’s 90 per cent of the 21,000 square metres of floor space across the two shows,” said AAAA executive director Stuart Charity.

“That’s a little bit ahead of where we were last time around and given the significant changes that have happened in the industry over the last two years, the consolidation and the uncertainty, I think that is a real vote of confidence in the Expo by the exhibitors.”

Being a trade-only show means the Expo differs from a normal exhibition. While the exhibitors pay for their floor space, the show is open at no cost to accredited members of the various sectors of the aftermarket.

Stuart Charity

Stuart Charity

Mr Charity said he was pleased with the uptake by exhibitors given developments in various parts of the industry.

“The aftermarket has a lot of different segments, but if you look at the constituency of the show and the companies that are selling at the show, I’d say the market is pretty soft.

“In terms of overall volumes, I don’t think they are growing significantly. What we are seeing is far more consolidation, especially in collision repair, where the workshop numbers have come down a lot in recent years.

“The insurance companies are consolidating their preferred repairer lists and they are also putting on a lot more requirements in terms of training and equipment to be a preferred repairer.

“That’s meant that a number of independents have been shut out, and you’ve got a very consolidated insurance market. They are really only two major players that control the majority of the market.”

Nevertheless, Mr Charity said he expected the Collision Repair side of the Expo to be sold out before Christmas.

He said consolidation was also affecting the number of businesses in the automotive aftermarket, while trends in car servicing were also working against independent repairers.

“In the auto aftermarket side, we are seeing consolidation in the supply chain. Bursons and Repco are buying other companies and integrating them in. We are seeing some consolidation there.”

Mr Charity said the increasing complexity of cars and the growth in service intervals of new cars was also working against the independent repairer members of the AAAA.ryco_lower

“The industry is probably not seeing the benefit of the growth in the overall carpark,” Mr Charity said. This is a major driver behind the AAAA’s Choice of Repairer campaign, which he said was gaining traction in Canberra.

“A lot of cars are staying with dealerships longer into their lives because of some of the strategies of the car companies. Some of those are perfectly legitimate marketing strategies and some are just anti-competitive, but it is having an impact on the industry.

“The average age of vehicles that are coming out of dealership servicing is rising. It has gone from around four years to five on average. It used to be three or three-and-a-half years but it is probably more than four years now.

“That’s had an impact on vehicles coming into the pool of aftermarket repairers. But overall, we’re hanging in there.”

Mr Charity said a series of seminars would again provide Expo attendees valuable insight into several technical areas.

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“The automotive industry has changed more in the last 10 years than it had in the previous 50 years. That pace of change is accelerating. It is critical for the survival and growth of your business to continually explore and implement better, more efficient and productive ways of doing things,” said Stuart Charity.

“A major focus of the 2017 Expo will be to provide a comprehensive free seminar and education program.

“The seminar content will provide you with practical information and tips that can be used immediately in your business to improve the bottom line.

“An important theme for the 2017 Expo seminar program will be technology. Among the topics that will be covered are how to pre-empt and resolve common on-board system faults and selecting the right scan tools to suit the work you do in your workshop.”

By Ian Porter

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