Hardly can you imagine a business or industry that has not been affected by the Pandemic of COVID-19. Collision Repair is among them. However, even though it has witnessed some decline due to Lockdown that led to traffic decrease, experts call the collision repair industry one of the most perspective in the observable future.
Let’s go through the current numbers and predictions to understand the collision repair industry’s future and what makes it unique in the modern market.
Collision industry in numbers
The market size of the collision repair and auto mechanic industry is measured by its revenue. By the Spring of 2021, the American vehicle maintenance market was estimated at $65.3bn. This number is already significantly higher than the overall revenue in 2020, which was around $63bn.
However, we may estimate the perspectives of the collision repair industry according to the previous statistics. For example, in 2008, the year of the global economic crisis, the auto repair market was estimated at around $59bn, but this number grew to $65bn in a matter of just five years. In 2019, the collision repair market was valued at almost $72bn just before the Pandemic.
Of course, we cannot expect an instant return to the pre-Coronavirus revenue instantly after the quarantine restrictions are limited entirely. But the more cars return on the roads, and the more global economies get adjusted to the new world and its demands, the more dynamic the collision repair market will be.
Overall, experts predict a 3.2% growth in the auto repair market in 2021.
Will the collision industry grow in the future?
It is a pretty controversial question. On the one hand, it is pretty understandable that the demand for repairs depends on the amount new cars on the road.
On the one hand, the economic recession is pretty clear worldwide, which means that most people lose their purchasing power. In other words, in the next couple of years, people will buy fewer cars, which may mean that the collision industry won’t grow that fast.
Another critical factor is that after the Pandemic many people decided to switch to home offices permanently. It means that this year much fewer people are supposed to travel between their homes and offices, causing less traffic and fewer collisions. However, practice shows that the fact that driers might use their cars less frequently otherwise leads to the fact that they cause more accidents and require repairs more often.
Another significant factor is that many car owners neglected their vehicle maintenance routine due to quarantine restrictions, considering it unnecessary as long as they hardly used their vehicles. It may lead to more vehicle malfunctions in the upcoming year, which will become a reason for more collisions and higher demand for repairs.
It is also important to note that the collision repair industry might have suffered the least out of all American service sectors. Due to its peculiarities and significance for the economy and safety, the auto mechanic industry’s decline was the slowest even despite the significantly decreased traffic in many regions. In fact, by the spring of 2021 collision repair industry takes 4th place among all the service industries and remains one of the largest in the United States.
Collision repair and vehicle maintenance are crucial for any economy in the world. People will continue using cars for their businesses and everyday life, which will inevitably lead to the collision repair sector’s stabilization and growth. With the new solutions and technologies, the development of roads and infrastructure, auto mechanics and collision repairs will remain the key markets that support the economy and provide people’s safety and comfort.
OHS Body Shop serves the Greater Flathead Valley and offers auto body repairs and more at our service centers in Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Polson. Visit the closest to you to get comprehensive consultation from our qualified mechanics and the best prices in the area for all kinds of service.
