Here’s some recent data that the car audio aftermarket should see.
Americans are loading new cars up with infotainment more than at any time in car history, which if you read on, presents an opportunity for the aftermarket.
Demand for “high-end stereos, navigation systems, leather seats and safety gadgets,” drove the price of new cars up by about $1,000 over the previous year, to a record high of $31,252 in August, said the AP earlier this month.
The trend began two years ago, due to low interest rates that help keep monthly car payments down.
Looked at over the past two years, the average price of a car has risen by $1,400, or 4.5 percent due to the trend.
But the story goes on to state that the trend may soon reverse as the next wave of car buyers will likely be more cost conscious and may want to keep the sticker price of the car as low as possible. Wealthier consumers were the first to return to the new car market following the recession. Now the rest of us are starting to car shop. Ford is already seeing the new frugal wave of buyers for its pickup trucks and so added a budget version to the F-Series.
You can interpret the data however you want, and we are well aware of the hurdles faced in the aftermarket vs. at a car dealer. But the data affirms two important points: that the product categories sold by the aftermarket are in high demand by consumers. And that many consumers want a lower cost alternative to the pricey OEM packages.
See the full story here.
Source: AP
Photo credit: CNET
From my perspective, there is an additional point that can be made about the OEM offerings and the offerings available in the aftermarket. That point is the one of choice. In the aftermarket, one doesn’t need to purchase leather seats or a sunroof to get some cool speakers or a system that integrates with his phone.