Good News for the Automotive Aftermarket
Last week in the Australian Senate, Senator Ricky Muir (AMEP, Victoria) moved a motion calling on the Australian Government to recognise the economic, social and other benefits of motorsport in Australia. In arguing the case for Australian Motorsport, Senator Muir championed the link between motor sport and advanced manufacturing. He specifically referred to the aftermarket and he demonstrated his point using real world examples of Australian innovation by AAAA member companies.
Examples from our members that he outlined included products that are designed for the Red Bull Formula One Team, transmission & gears, exhaust systems, turbo charge and vehicle frontal protection.
The aftermarket industry is heavily supported by motorsport and is a $13 billion industry. In 2013 it was worth around $11 billion. So it is actually growing without government financial support; it is currently highly successful without the need for subsidies. It also employs around 30,000 people. Of the $13 billion generated by this industry $5 billion is from local manufacturing in Australia. A decent proportion of this $5 billion is generated from the manufacturing of specialty equipment specifically designed for motorsport.
Auto products produced by AAAA members are globally recognised and these great products make their way onto winning race cars and yet we don’t necessarily rush to Canberra each time to tell everyone about it. We are often asked why it is that people think that the automotive industry is dying or dead when there are so many examples of auto aftermarket global penetration, innovation and excellence. It’s because our members spend more time doing than promoting. We are often too busy doing our day jobs to stop and celebrate the milestones. But every now and then, it is great to see that our great sector is recognised for the enormous achievements that we have made. Senator Muir made his speech on Thursday 17 September. A number of other Senators contributed to this debate and in particular, we appreciated the strong support of our industry provided by Senator David Bushby (Liberal, Tasmania).
Total value of Australian parts manufacturing is estimated to be worth $5.4 billion each and every year. It is difficult to value the aftermarket proportion of production, but, given the decline in local new car manufacturing, it could be assumed that a large part of this contribution is within the aftermarket. The largest areas of production include exhaust systems and other parts and accessories, accounting for 39.4 per cent of the automotive aftermarket industry, with motor reconditioning accounting for 14.9 per cent, seats and interior components 9.8 per cent and brakes and parts 6.5 per cent. The AAAA believes the total size of the industry will grow to $34 billion and has great optimism about the future. Recently, 76 per cent of AAAA member companies shared an expectation that their businesses will continue to grow. This sort of optimism breeds confidence in the economy and helps provide the certainty needed for new job creation in Australia.
A full Hansard Extract can be found by CLICKING HERE.