Argentina : inflation places the market under pressure

And this concerns both vehicles and spare parts: “Between 2019 and 2023, sales of new vehicles fell from one million to 400,000 units. The only vehicles sold, over 30% of which are pick-ups, are manufactured locally. The average age, currently 10 years, is set to rise to 12 years in three or four years’ time, while 60% of the vehicle fleet (10.5 million vehicles) will very soon be in the 10 to 20 year age bracket”, says Florencia Delucchi, Argentina Director at GiPA. The IAM, which represents more than 80% of the total aftersales market, therefore has a serious advantage. The problem is finding the part! “The one who has it is the one who sells it”, sums up the Argentine director.

This shortage, combined with inflation, gives the internet a distinctive edge: “While Argentinians are fairly traditional when it comes to servicing their vehicles, having professionals take care of them, an increasing number are using MercadoLibre, the South American equivalent of eBay. However, the platform is used more as a price lists that change from month to month than a real sourcing for parts”, observes Florencia Delucchi. There are very few branded repairers in the country. Apart from Bosch Car Service, which has 250 service outlets, multi-brand networks are still in their infancy: “Stellantis bought 12 Norauto centres last summer and, at the same time, is developing the Eurorepar Car Service network with 20 to 25 outlets at present. Meanwhile, Pirelli has developed a small network of around 25 tyre specialists located near shopping centres. That’s as far as the initiatives go”, explains Florencia Delucchi. There are many very small businesses (50% of garages have just two employees), with little inclination to comply with the standards of a maintenance network, when they are not small entrepreneurs carrying out maintenance services “off the books”, slipping under the radar of the tax authorities and pulling prices down quite naturally. The priority for an Argentinian repairer is to manage day-to-day emergencies: where to find parts when supplies are erratic? How do you finance the purchase or renewal of garage equipment in an ultra-inflationary environment? Not to mention the training needed to keep pace with technological change... “What Argentina needs today is visibility”, concludes the GiPA Director for Argentina.

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