Foresight Research: Owners of New and Used Vehicles Buy Lots of Accessories

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich., May 01, 2018 -- There is something like 250 million vehicles in operation in the United States and the average age of those vehicles is about 11 years old.  However, a boat load of them (like almost 100 million) were built in the last five years and most are still running around our roads.   Foresight Research wanted to know about the automotive accessory market.  So, we ran a survey and interviewed over 7000 households and asked if they had purchased accessories for their car or truck.  Wow, this business is huge!  Market statistics report that over $40 billion worth of accessories are sold each year, and that would be no surprise to us.

We asked folks who had purchased a new car in the last five years (and they were still driving it) if they had purchased at least $250 worth of accessories.  Why $250 worth of accessories?  We wanted to survey real accessory buyers – not just someone who bought a trailer hitch to tow their boat.   About half said they had purchased accessories for their new vehicle.  And a lot of them were planning to buy more.  Then, we thought what about the used car buyers?  We find that about one third of them had spent or planned to spend over $250 on their ride. 

What did all these folks buy?  Look to technology items (things like Bluetooth, entertainment, navigation systems, etc.) and protection items (floor mats or bug deflectors, etc.)  But it does not end there.  Appearance items are huge – like wheels for example.  And utility items such as ski racks and trailer brake controllers and performance items are close behind.

Where do they spend all these dollars?  Well, that depends on how they bought the car.  If the car was bought new then more than half said they bought from their new car dealer, often at the time they bought the vehicle.  If the car was bought used, the aftermarket has the edge.  And of course many buy in both sectors of the market, and frequently.

Now, what comes next? To start with there is model years 2017 and 2018 and beyond.  And then there are those planning to buy more accessories for their existing vehicle.   Where are they planning to purchase and how can they be contacted?  What are they thinking of buying, and what retail outlets have the competitive edge?  Foresight Research is surveying again to dive into this further.  Stay tuned more to come.

For further information contact:

Bob Longstreth VP

(248) 608-1870 X18

(248) 425-7920 (C)

[email protected]     

www.foresightresearch.com