Britain’s automotive aftermarket is a major export success story, taking UK products, services and specialist expertise developed across the country to customers around the world. From replacement parts, braking systems and remanufactured components, to diagnostics, electrification capability and specialist engineering support, British companies export automotive components for new vehicles and aftercare worth some £7 billion annually, contributing massively to UK trade, the national economy, and jobs in every region.
That strength is on show this week at Automechanika Frankfurt – Europe’s largest automotive aftermarket exhibition, where SMMT’s UK Pavilion is supporting 19 innovative British businesses, helping them connect to international buyers, forge new partnerships and demonstrate the breadth of UK capability. The Pavilion generated almost 1,000 global business connections and partnerships at the last Frankfurt show in 2024, worth an estimated £3.9 million, underlining its value as a platform for overseas sales, collaboration and long-term trade partnerships.
The foundations for UK aftermarket success are strong: our suppliers are already serving global markets across established vehicle technologies while scaling the tools, parts, services and training needed for the next generation of connected, electrified and software-defined mobility. This makes the UK aftermarket both a major domestic economic asset, turning over more than £62 billion a year, and attractive to overseas investors and partners of all sizes.
The market opportunity is also growing as vehicle technology becomes more complex. The UK’s vehicle parc reached a record high last year, with 42.55 million vehicles on the road, and is home to one of the world’s most diverse new vehicle markets, with more than 80 brands and some 450 models on sale. In addition, one in 22 vehicles in use on the road is now zero emission, equivalent to more than 1.79 million cars and some 120,000 vans, trucks and buses.
The aftermarket is also as important to the commercial vehicle sector as it is to cars, given vehicle uptime, safety and efficiency are the foundations of successful logistics. UK businesses from the CV sector, too, will be heading to Germany next week for IAA Transportation in Hannover – Europe’s largest exhibition for trucks, vans and buses organised by SMMT’s German counterpart, VDA. International collaboration and partnership is critical for automotive, given our industry is highly integrated across borders, particularly with Europe, so we look forward to attending and meeting our overseas members, investors and partners that have a vital role in delivering the growth Britain needs.
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