Favorable tailwinds, steady demand, and consistent cash flows have kept investors highly interested in the automotive aftermarket, according to an industry report released by the Automotive Aftermarket investment banking team at Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (BGL).
- Inside the report, BGL shares its annual recap of Aftermarket Week in Las Vegas. The automotive aftermarket M&A environment and strategies impacting current and future deal activity are discussed and optimism and interest in the sector remains high.
- The traditional drivers in the automotive aftermarket—vehicles in operation, miles traveled, and age of the fleet—are at or near record highs, creating strong tailwinds in the vehicle maintenance space and attracting existing and new buyers to what is already a vibrant market.
- Investors are fleeing to stability and resilient business models as leverage has tightened and credit quality is more highly valued. Fragmented markets that can be further consolidated and which offer non-discretionary or low-dollar discretionary services are in favor. Liquidity constraints are leading some companies to explore strategic alternatives not pursued for years.
- The circular economy is attracting interest amid a growing focus on environmental stewardship across the aftermarket, as are business models that are on a trend toward environmental sustainability, with remanufacturing and vehicle recycling garnering increased attention.
Internal combustion engines continue to remain an attractive category given their share of the vehicle fleet, and businesses that sell internal combustion engines on the aftermarket remain sought-after and valuable targets.
Even while a large part of the automotive market today is combustion engines, electric vehicle (EV) penetration is projected to increase more than 40-fold by 2045, making EV-focused M&A targets highly attractive to both strategic and financial investors as they look to build scale in this rapidly growing niche.