Automotive aftermarket research that shows who really services your vehicles.

Automotive aftermarket research is the study of what happens to vehicles after the sale: who services them, which parts they receive and why owners switch between dealers and independent workshops. For an OEM or automotive aftermarket parts supplier, the research shows which service channel decides the parts that get fitted. Nextyn builds automotive aftermarket research from face-to-face interviews with authorized workshops, independent garages, fleet managers and owners, including 100+ workshop interviews across four European markets.

A Nextyn automotive aftermarket study covers three research topics: service share by channel across dealers, independents and fleets, the triggers behind each change of workshop, and the priority channels with the people who choose parts. Each topic comes from primary interviews in the workshops themselves, not desk research:

• Service share: how maintenance and repair split between dealer, independent and fleet workshops
• Switching triggers: why owners move from one provider to another
• Priority channels: where the parts brand is chosen, and by whom

Nextyn interviews the four groups that decide where a vehicle is serviced and which parts go in: OEM-authorized workshops, independent garages, fleet managers and vehicle owners. Each study draws its sample from these groups, matched to the vehicle segments and markets in scope:

• OEM-authorized dealer workshops and service advisors
• Independent garages and fast-fit chains
• Fleet and maintenance managers
• Private and business vehicle owners

Nextyn runs automotive aftermarket research in the United States, Canada, Germany and across Europe, among other markets, with field presence in 85 countries and 50+ languages in-house. Markets are agreed at scoping and follow your vehicle parc, so a single US region and a four-country European workshop study each get their own sample. Recent Nextyn aftermarket work includes 100+ face-to-face interviews with OEM-authorized workshops across four European markets on first-replacement battery share.

Nextyn recommends commissioning automotive aftermarket research before dealer incentives, service plans or parts programs are redesigned, and as large vehicle cohorts leave warranty. That is the point where owners start choosing between the dealer workshop and an independent garage for routine maintenance. Other triggers include parts sales falling while the vehicle parc grows, first-replacement work drifting to independents, and a new fast-fit chain, online parts retailer or distributor gaining ground. In one Nextyn study across four European markets, the findings reshaped the client's dealer incentive design.

A Nextyn automotive aftermarket project runs in four steps, from brief to read-out, and nothing is commissioned until the client approves the plan. The client sees the sample, method and price before any fieldwork, and reads every interview with the Nextyn team at the end.

1. Submit the brief: the vehicle segments, the markets and the channel decision at stake.
2. Receive a plan within 48 hours: who Nextyn will interview, how, and what the work costs.
3. Approve the plan: fieldwork starts only after sign-off.
4. Review the read-out: every interview read together, showing where workshops, fleets and owners agree, where they conflict and what is still open.

Nextyn sends a research plan within 48 hours of receiving the brief, stating who will be interviewed, how, and what the work costs. The plan sets the fieldwork length for the vehicle segments and markets in scope, so a single-market owner study and a four-country workshop study each get their own timeline. Nothing is commissioned until the plan is approved, and every interview is read back with the client at the end.

Nextyn's automotive aftermarket research answers one brand's service and parts questions with new interviews in its own markets, while a syndicated aftermarket report forecasts the whole automotive aftermarket industry for every subscriber. The report sizes the aftermarket, and the research shows who services your vehicles and why owners switch.