Auto Care Insider Volume 106 - 8

2014

2015

134

119

2012

22

41

48

52

88
2011

124

Sources: Jefferies, LLC; 2018 Digital Auto Care Factbook

136

Number of Auto Care Industry Transactions, 2007-2016

According to Jefferies, LLC, a global investment banking
firm, there were 134 reported M&A transactions in the U.S.
last year and in 81 (60 percent) of those transactions, an
auto care industry supplier/manufacturer was the target.
Companies with business interests in the light vehicle market
comprised an overwhelming majority (78 percent) of those
acquired. These M&A activities were driven by the increasing
amount of miles driven, rising average age of vehicles at
a record high of 11.7 years, rapid (4.1 percent) growth in
vehicles over the age of 11 years, growing light vehicle
fleet and the availability of significant investment capital.

135

2016 Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)

2007

2008

2009

2010

2013

2016

New Light Vehicle Registrations
Since the 2008 economic recession that led to Americans
holding on to their aging vehicles, demand for new vehicles has
risen. Pent-up demand for vehicles, coupled with improving
consumer confidence in the economy, produced increasing
new vehicle sales. More than 17 million new light vehicles were
registered in 2016, up 183,000 vehicles from the previous year.
The number of vehicles on the road as of January 2017
grew to 278.6 million, up 2.4 percent from the previous
year because of increased new vehicle registrations. Light
vehicle registrations accounted for 270.4 million units,
while medium and heavy duty trucks totaled 8.2 million.
According to the IHS Markit Forecast (Digital Auto Care
Factbook, page 11), the growth in the number of vehicles on
the road will slow down by the end of 2017 and should reach
284 million units by 2020. The fact that Americans continue to
keep their cars longer bodes well for the auto care industry. For
the sixth consecutive year, the average age for all light vehicles
equaled or exceeded 11 years reaching 11.7 years in 2017.

U.S. Vehicles in Operation 2007- 2017
The American consumer continues to demonstrate a strong
preference for import name plates. The vehicle in operation
(VIO) mix chart (opposite page) demonstrates evidence of
Americans' penchant for imported vehicles. In 2007, domestic
vehicles comprised 66.8 percent of VIO, but by 2017, the
number had declined to 55 percent. By contrast, imported
vehicles on U.S. roads led by Japanese name plates have
grown markedly over the same period that the domestic
vehicles were declining in numbers. Imported vehicles
represented 33.2 percent of VIO in 2007. By 2017, slightly more
than two in five vehicles (45 percent) on the road are imported.

New Light Vehicle Registrations, 2004-2016
18M
16M
14M
12M
10M

'04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16
Sources: IHS Markit; 2018 Digital Auto Care Factbook

Average Age of Cars and Light Vehicles, 2007-2017
13
11.7 Years

Average age of all light vehicles

11
Light Trucks
Passenger Cars
All Light Vehicles

9

2007

2017

Sources: IHS Markit; 2018 Digital Auto Care Factbook

factbook2018

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AUTO CARE INSIDER |

VOL. 106
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Auto Care Insider Volume 106
