Insights
What should automotive remarketing and aftersales companies focus on in 2026?
What trends have defined 2025 for automotive remarketing and aftersales companies, and what lies ahead? Paul Marklew, enterprise sales director at Autovista Group, speaks with Tom Geggus, editor of Autovista24. How has 2025 been for remarketers? What trends have defined this year for them? Remarketers, such as dealers, auctions and advertising portals, have seen a slow 2025 that has made trading conditions challenging. With current economic uncertainties, including reduced consumer sentiment, there are fewer cars being bought and sold. Profit margins are being squeezed significantly as dealers compete for the buyers that are in the market. This trend is reflected when looking at residual values (RVs) across the vehicles. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, most markets across Europe have seen a pretty dramatic increase in RVs. Dealers have also enjoyed increased profit margins. Now we are seeing a rationalisation of the market. Values are dropping towards pre-pandemic levels, at quite a fast rate in some cases. This has resulted in lower profit margins when the vehicles finally go into stock. Additionally, consumers are holding on to their cars for a little bit longer. This has reduced the amount of stock in the market. How does this compare to the year the aftermarket has had? Aftersales, like part suppliers for example, are still some of the more profitable parts of dealer businesses. The margins in the car are a bit more difficult, but servicing and maintenance continue to be profitable. The businesses dealing with aftermarket parts, which are normally more affordable than OEM parts, are seeing an increase in business. This comes as they move towards increased digitalisation and an improved buyer experience. So, aftersales and remarketing are really experiencing the same meta trends in different ways. Remarketing and consumers As you mentioned, RVs did soar during the COVID-19 pandemic, and now we are seeing a normalisation. How have remarketing companies dealt with this change? For starters, there has been a focus on cost and buyer experience. AI and digital car-buying journeys are coming into the mix a lot more. There is also a focus on the consumer experience, and there is a lot of competition in this area. This is because you can only compete so far on price and remain profitable. Consumers are spending less time in the dealership and more time online. Consequently, some of these online advertising portals, for example, are becoming increasingly important to the journey. So, dealers are trying to capture people online a lot more now, and they are trying to give consumers choice. Previously, we saw businesses introduce online-only models, particularly during COVID-19. Those models had mixed success and varied longevity. But in the end, the businesses that were more successful with this, created choice for customers. These buyers can complete as much of the buying journey online as they would like. Then, if they would like to come into a dealership to complete the transaction, that is available to them. Closed remarketing ecosystem So how do these digital systems lock in buyers? Information is king in this area. Dealers are looking at new ways of providing information to consumers, including agentic AI on their websites. This helps customers do the research in the dealer ecosystem, keeping them on their website. Then they are more likely to convert that into a sale in the end. We are seeing this in the wholesale environment as well. Traditionally, in places like the UK, physical auctions were the way to buy cars. But since COVID-19, the digital acquisition of stock is becoming more common. Platforms that allow dealer-to-dealer customers to purchase stock digitally, either from other dealers, OEMs, or fleet companies, are becoming more common. The key factors in that are going to be getting the pricing right and accurately describing the vehicle condition. Electric vehicle remarketing Another hurdle for remarketing and aftersales is electric vehicles (EVs). How can the relatively low RVs of these vehicles be managed? The depreciation happens, at scale, in the first life of the vehicle. A lot of first-life EVs go into fleets and leasing. Realistically, that loss is being handled by the businesses that are then remarketing the cars. But EVs do remain a point of uncertainty. In some markets, they are difficult to insure. In others, they are difficult to source parts for. In some countries, they do not have the best charging infrastructure. Some of the markets, like the UK, are bucking these trends. RVs are low, but this is mainly due to the fast development of EV technology. There is also a knowledge gap to overcome, with dealers looking to upskill themselves. Yet, EVs are selling pretty well in the UK, even used models. As long as the dealers buy at the right price, they are not having much difficulty selling them. There are always going to be deviations from that trend, but overall, the UK EV market is pretty strong. What about in other countries? What we are seeing a lot of in mainland Europe is the shifting from one country to another. Many used EVs have low RVs within one country, like Germany, for example. But the vehicles are moved to the Nordics, for example, where the used EV market is strong and RVs are less disrupted. So, if you remarket your vehicle in a country with a low RVs, that is what you will experience. However, if you move it to a country with a stronger used EV market, you avoid absorbing those financial outcomes. Creaking supply chains One problem the industry has dealt with this year is disrupted supply chains. How have aftersales businesses managed? This seems to be a problem more for vehicle manufacturers. For non-OEM parts, business is actually looking pretty good. There are several factors at play. More insurance companies are looking to control costs. Before, they may have had policies that focused on like-for-like replacements. Those become difficult policies to manage during supply chain disruption as the costs of these parts rise. Increasingly, they are looking at viable aftermarket alternatives and, in some cases, recycled parts. When we look at OEM parts and how businesses are trying to adapt to this, digitalisation is a key trend. We are seeing more e-commerce journeys at play. There is also an increase in purchase channels. Dealers are looking at how they can sell parts directly to consumers online. Again, having the right data to facilitate picking the right part for the right car is key. Opportunities and challenges So, moving into 2026, where do you see the biggest opportunities and challenges for remarketing and aftersales companies? I am sure we will see more overseas investment resulting in the consolidation of dealerships. When the top line is pressured, reducing costs is key. So, dealers are going to do that by investing in growing their businesses through acquisition. There is going to be investment in digitalisation to reduce costs. They are going to make sure they have good quality data to make sure that they are making the right purchasing and selling decisions. We will also keep seeing vehicles moving around countries in mainland Europe, ensuring businesses get the best possible price. This is because the desirability and profitability of certain vehicles are different from country to country. The aftermarket will see something quite similar. Digitalisation, consolidation, and the reduction of costs to ensure profitability. For example, we are seeing a lot of parts wholesalers grouping together to share costs. This is not necessarily acquisition, but the forming of powerful buying groups to create economies of scale. So, both sides of the market will need to manage the bottom line, where there is less flexibility in the top line. This means AI, digitalisation, and economies of scale.
