Spare parts are defined as changeable parts that are utilized for the repair or replacement of failed or damaged units. According to certification, these parts are categorized into genuine parts, certified parts, and uncertified parts. Genuine parts are components installed at the time of manufacturing of a vehicle or equipment. These parts are manufactured with the help of various types of metals such as steel, iron, aluminum, and magnesium. Initially, steel and iron were extensively utilized metals in the automotive industry. Most of the vehicle’s weight is due to the components made from these metals. Nowadays, aluminum and magnesium are becoming more popular in the market attributing to rising demand for lightweight vehicles. Magnesium and aluminum have lighter weights as compared to steel and iron, which is projected to propel the demand for lightweight metals in the market.
Types of Spare Parts
Spare parts can be broadly classified into two groups, namely repairables and consumables.
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Repairables
Repairable parts are parts that are considered worthy of repair, usually by virtue of economic consideration of their repair cost. Rather than bearing the cost of completely replacing a finished product, repairables typically are designed to allow more affordable maintenance as they are more modular as compared to the consumables segment. This enables components to be more easily removed, repaired, and replaced, allowing cheaper replacement. Spare parts that are required to support the condemnation of repairable parts are known as replenishment spares. A rotable pool is a pool of repairable spare parts inventory set aside to enable multiple repairs to be performed simultaneously. This pool can be utilized to minimize stockout conditions for repairable items.
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Consumables
Parts that cannot be repaired are considered consumable parts. Consumable parts are normally scrapped, whenever they are out of order. Since no repairment is required, for a fixed mean time between failures (MTBF), replacement rates for consumption of consumables are higher as compared to an equivalent item treated as a repairable part. Therefore, consumables tend to be cheaper as compared to repairable parts. As consumables are of lower cost and produced in a higher volume, economies of scale can be found by ordering in large lot sizes, a so-called economic order quantity.
Importance of Spare Parts in the Automotive Industry
The requirement for improved fuel efficiency, weight minimization, environmental regulations, and policies along with customer demand pushes the automaker companies to aim at developing new materials and redesigning the existing ones, and selecting materials accordingly. All material industries plastics and polymer composites, as well as steel, aluminum, and magnesium, are being extensively used to respond to the automotive industry changing needs.
For decades, advanced plastics and polymer composites have supported the improvement in appearance, functionality, and safety of automobiles while cutting down the vehicle weight and delivering superior value to customers at the same time. Several materials are utilized to make cars.
Trends and Developments
The main materials used for making cars, spare parts, and components, along with future trends, are steel, aluminum, magnesium, copper, plastics, and carbon fibers.
- The prime reason for utilizing steel in the body structure is due to its inherent capacity to absorb impact energy in a crash situation.
- The use of aluminum for making spare parts can potentially cut the weight of the vehicle body. Recent developments have exhibited that up to 50% weight saving for the body in white can be done by substituting steel by aluminum.
- Magnesium is another light metal that is becoming extensively common in the automotive engineering. It is 33% lighter as compared to aluminum and 75% lighter as compared to steel/cast iron components.
- Titanium has been majorly utilized in high temperatures zones, and high strength requirement areas, such as exhaust systems, suspension springs, valve springs, valves, and connecting rods. Fiber-reinforced composites provide a wide range of advantages to the automotive industry. It is because the composite structures offer high strength/low weight ratio.
- The utilization of lightweight plastics and composite materials in the automotive industry has been increasing in recent years due to legislative and consumer demands for lighter-weight, fuel-efficient vehicles. One of the methods to choose the best materials for automotive applications is to use material selection charts, which offers the performance index of the materials to suit the need and conditions for a specific application.
Market Dynamics
According to a detailed report by Growth Market Reports, the global metal spare parts market was valued at USD 526.4 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 541.3 billion by 2028, expanding at a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period, 2021-2028.
The global metal spare parts market growth can be attributed to factors such as the increasing utilization of metal spare parts in several industries such as construction, aerospace, defense, and automotive. The automotive industry provides a lucrative market potential in the global metal spare parts manufacturing market, due to speedy advancements and developments made in the manufacture of automobile spare parts. Moreover, applications of the metal spare parts utilized for construction equipment, agricultural equipment, and mining equipment are gaining some momentum. Spare parts are utilized in aircraft, ships, and several other types of machinery. This factor increases the utilization of aircraft and ships for import and export, defense, and transportation, which in turn, is expected to drive the demand for metal spare parts in the coming years.
COVID-19 Impact on Market
The coronavirus pandemic has led to havoc across the globe. It had pressurized the manufacturing industry to come to a halt. However, the market is slowly recovering. Manufacturers are adopting technologies to make the overall system less dependent on humans. Additionally, the industries are seeking for local players to meet their requirements.
The outlook of impact can be divided under the following possible scenarios:
- According to the optimistic scenario, the global metal spare parts market is anticipated to remain under the massive impact of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020, and from the second quarter, the demand is expected to rise.
- Under the probabilistic scenario, the market is expected to remain under the strong influence of the crisis until the second quarter, and from the third quarter onwards, the situation will alleviate.
Segmentation Analysis
On the basis of certifications, the global metal spare parts market is segmented as genuine parts, certified parts, and uncertified parts. The genuine parts segment is projected to dominate the market with over half of the market share and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period as genuine parts are comparatively high priced. The certified parts segment is expected to account for more than 28% share of the market in 2020 as certified parts are extensively accepted by manufacturers for manufacturing their finished products. Based on materials, the market is fragmented into steel, aluminum, magnesium, iron, and others. The steel segment accounted for the major share of the market in 2020, as the metal is extensively used by the automotive industry. Moreover, iron is widely employed for manufacturing car engines and other spare parts. Titanium, copper, brass, and others are employed for the manufacturing of machinery, equipment, and automobile.
These metals offer several characteristics such as corrosion resistance and high strength, which makes them suitable for manufacturing machinery. In terms of applications, the market is divided into vehicles and equipment. The vehicle segment accounted for a major share attributing to rising demand for vehicles such as passenger vehicles and transportation vehicles (heavy-duty vehicles) worldwide. The equipment segment is anticipated to expand at a substantial CAGR in the near future, as the demand for agricultural equipment, mining equipment, and construction equipment is rising, due to an increase in agricultural, construction, and mining activities. On the basis of distribution channels, the market is divided into online and offline. The offline segment is expected to account for a high share of the global metal spare parts market, attributing to the rising number of purchase from the offline channel.
Regional Outlook
In terms of regions, the market is fragmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is a promising region for the market during the forecast period andthe region constituted a substantial share of the market in 2020. The market in the region is anticipated to expand at a CAGR over 4% during the forecast period as there is a rapid increase in the demand for metal spare parts in the region, especially from emerging economies such as China and India. Increasing focus of players in the development of efficient metal spare parts and the rise in government initiatives are some of the factors anticipated to bolster the market growth in the region.
Competitive Landscape
Prominent players in the market include Jayem Automotives, ANAND Group, AVTEC, Bharat Seats Limited, DENSO CORPORATION, Guru Nanak Auto Enterprises Ltd, HI-TECH TOOLS, JBM Group, JTEKT India Limited, Lucas TVS, Orione Hydraulics Pvt Ltd., Robert Bosch Power Tools GmbH, Sundaram Clayton Limited, and UNO Minda.
The prominent players in the market are utilizing strategies such as product launches, mergers & acquisitions, and contracts & collaborations. These strategies are expected to deliver effective goods and high-performance goods, supporting market laws, and better client satisfaction.
- In January 2018, Robert Bosch Power Tools GmbH acquired 5% of an indirect ownership stake in HERE Technologies. HERE Technologies is a global provider of digital mapping and location services. This action helped them to bolster their product portfolios.
- In July 2019, DENSO CORPORATION established a joint venture to provide aftermarket products and services in South Africa. This joint venture helps to sell aftermarket products and services in Southern Africa.