An automotive part retailer is a

retail business Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

that sells automotive parts and related accessories to both consumers and professional repair shops, through physical stores and websites. Some automotive parts retailers also offer customer support and services related to automotive maintenance and repair. The sector is often dependent on consumers' disposable income, and therefore affected by business cycles and economic conditions.

History

The automotive parts industry in the United States began with the proliferation of automobiles as a common method of transportation. As the industry grew, small businesses came to be replaced by chains and retail networks.

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

was the first company in the industry to begin franchising in 1893. In 1909, Western Auto became the first retailer of aftermarket automotive parts in the United States. In 1928, Genuine Parts Company as a distributor of automotive replacement parts, industrial parts and consumer supplies. Its largest component is NAPA Auto Parts. By the 1970s, large companies like Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone and O'Reilly Auto Parts dominated the market. Most of these also offered private label automotive products, which accounted over 50% of revenue in some cases. Demand for automotive parts correlates with the average age of vehicles on the road, and the price of fuel. When newer cars are more expensive or there are supply chain issues, consumers are more likely to keep and repair their existing cars, or purchase older used cars that require more regular repairs. The average age of vehicles in the United States increased from the 6.5 years in 1980, to 8.5 years in 2000.

2020 to present

Demand for auto parts can be affected by how much consumers travel for work, education and travel. During the COVID-19 pandemic, sales dropped rapidly, as did the stock price growth of many major US retailers during 2020. The subsequent increase in road travel had the opposite effect; unlike home improvement, furniture or grocery retailers, automotive parts retailers directly benefited from incremental increases in the number of consumers commuting to work or school. Major American retailers recorded high revenue, sales figures or operating margins in 2021 as a result of this trend, despite experiencing high inflation and supply chain pressures. The average age of a vehicle in the US reached a record high of 12.1 years in 2021. The price of gas rose sharply in 2022, causing volatility for the sector.

By market

United States

Automotive part retailing is a $300 billion industry in the United States. O'Reilly Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, CarMax and AutoZone are major players in the industry. Other retailers include: *

Allen Tire Company Allen Tire Company a tire and wheel retailer in Southern California, USA, established in 1973, with 18 locations throughout the area. Modern Tire Dealer publishes lists of the top 100 independent tire store chains; Allen first appeared at around ...

* American Tire Distributors *

AmericanMuscle AmericanMuscle is an American online retailer of automotive parts and accessories for Ford Mustang and Ford F-150 (F-Series truck) model automobiles. Founded by Steve Voudouris, it is one of the flagship brands and websites of Turn5 Inc., a holdi ...

* Amsoil *

Auto Parts Warehouse Auto Parts Warehouse (APW) is an American online retailer of automotive parts and accessories for cars, vans, trucks, and sport utility vehicles. Along with CarParts.com and JC Whitney, it was one of the flagship websites of CarParts.com, an Am ...

* Belle Tire * Big O Tires * CarParts.com *

Carquest Carquest Corporation is an American automotive parts distribution network that is currently owned and operated by Advance Auto Parts via independent retailers associated with the network. As of October 4, 2014 Advance operated 5,305 stores, 109 ...

* Chief Auto Parts *

Commercial Tire Commercial Tire is a chain of tire stores located in the United States, providing tires and related services to owners of passenger, commercial, and agricultural vehicles. History The original store was founded in 1968 by J.R. "Bob" Schwenkf ...

* CSK Auto * Discount Tire *

G.I. Joe's G.I. Joe's was a privately owned retail chain for sporting goods, ready-to-wear clothing, and auto parts; that operated stores in the Pacific Northwest region of the northwestern United States.Grand Auto Supply Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

Grigsby-Grunow Majestic Radios was an American radio brand from 1927 to 1955, trademarked as "The Mighty Monarchs of the Air". Noted for their high quality, they were initially manufactured by the Grigsby-Grunow Company of Chicago. After Grigsby-Grunow's demis ...

JC Whitney JC Whitney is a retailer of aftermarket automotive parts and accessories. as well as an automotive content platform viJCWhitney.comand thJC Whitney print magazineIt was acquired by CarParts.com (formerly U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc.), a pu ...

* Jegs High Performance * KOI Auto Parts *

Les Schwab Tire Centers Les Schwab Tire Centers is a tire retail chain operating in the western United States. Founded in 1952, the company is named for founder Les Schwab and is headquartered in the Central Oregon city of Bend. The private company employs over 7,000 ...

LKQ Corporation LKQ Corporation (''Like Kind and Quality'') is an American provider of alternative and speciality parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. LKQ has operations in North America, Europe and Taiwan. LKQ sells replacement system ...

McQuay-Norris McQuay-Norris was a maker of automobile engine parts such as piston rings, and chassis parts like steering wheel knuckle bolts. It also produced and distributed electrical controls for gas appliances. Based in St. Louis, Missouri, the company merged ...

* NAPA Auto Parts *

Oscaro Oscaro is a French e-commerce company founded in 2003. The company specialises in the sale of new and genuine automotive parts from manufacturers and wholesalers. The company is headquartered in Paris and Gennevilliers and operates in France, Sp ...

Pep Boys Pep Boys is an American automotive aftermarket service chain. Originally named Pep Auto Supply, the company was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921 by Emanuel (Manny) Rosenfeld, Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, Maurice "Moe" Strauss, Jack J ...

Pfadt Race Engineering Pfadt Race Engineering is an engineering firm situated in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company specializes in the manufacturing and sale of automotive components designed for GM lines. Pfadt Race Engineering is a developer of aftermarket suspen ...

Quirk Tires and Service Quirk or Quirks is having unconventional beliefs or manner, for example mispronouncing, in-jokes, clumsy and ditsy, and may refer to: * ''The Quirk'', a literary magazine * "Quirks", a song by Ultravox! from the album ''Ha!-Ha!-Ha!'' * 18376 Qui ...

RevZilla.com RevZilla.com, also known as RevZilla, is an online motorcycle-gear retailer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company sells motorcycle gear, parts and accessories, and was founded in 2007. History In November 2007, Nick Auger, Anthony Buc ...

Rovers North Rovers North Inc is a privately held Land Rover parts dealer located in Westford, Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, ...

* Summit Racing Equipment *

Super Shops Super Shops Automotive Performance Centers was an American chain of 165 Automotive aftermarket, aftermarket auto parts stores which operated from 1963 to 1998. The chain was founded as a single store on July 1, 1963, by Harry Eberlin, a United Sta ...

Tire Discounters Tire Discounters is a tire and auto service shop started by Chip Wood in 1976 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today, it ranks as the eighth-largest independent tire dealer in the U.S. by Modern Tire Dealer National Rankings 2020. History Tire Discount ...

* Tire Kingdom *

Tire Rack Tire Rack was a privately owned customer-direct tire, wheels, car accessories distributor company headquartered in South Bend, Indiana until it was acquired by Discount Tire in 2021 and continued to operate Tire Rack as a separate business and bra ...

* Trak Auto *

Valvoline Instant Oil Change Valvoline Instant Oil Change is a company that provides preventive maintenance services for many different types of automobiles. These services include oil changes, antifreeze changes, differential fluid changes, batteries, belts, fuel system clea ...

VIP Tires and Service VIP Tires and Service, previously known as VIP Parts, Tires andService, before the auto part business segment purchase by O'Reilly Auto Parts in December 2012. Prior to the O'Reilly purchase, VIP was the largest independently owned automotive aft ...

* Western Auto *

Winston Tire Company The Winston Tire Company was an American tire manufacturer and automotive service chain based in Burbank, California., and was founded by Sam Winston and Ray Oliver. The company was in business from 1962 to 2002 when it was acquired by the Goodye ...

Canada

Canada's automotive part retailers include Amsoil,

Fountain Tire Fountain Tire Holdings Ltd. is a Canadian tire dealer and automotive service provider with 160 consumer locations in Central and Western Canada. The company also provides tires and tire-related services to commercial truck fleets and off-road ve ...

, Integra Tire & Auto Centres,

PartSource PartSource Inc. is a Canadian automotive parts retail chain owned by Canadian Tire. It sells name brand automotive parts, specializing in commercial sales and sales to customers who work on their own vehicles. Founded in 1996, the retailer has 80 ...

and

Tirecraft Tirecraft is a Canadian owned and operated network of tire and mechanical retailers. Founded in Vernon, B.C. in 1968, the Tirecraft brand was purchased in 1990 by Remington Group, whose Town & Country Tire locations were re-branded to become Tirec ...

United Kingdom

Halfords is a major retailer in the United Kingdom, and owns National Tyres and Autocare and

Ripspeed Ripspeed is a sub brand of Halfords, one of the leading automotive parts retailer in the United Kingdom. It began as an independent retailer in the 1970s, two decades later the business changed hands and was purchased in 1999 by Halfords, and op ...

. Demon Tweeks also operates in the UK market.

Europe

Several retailers operate in multiple European countries, including

Euro Car Parts Euro Car Parts is a distributor of car parts and accessories, with around 200 locations in Europe. History The company was founded by Sukhpal Singh Ahluwalia, when he opened a motor parts shop in Willesden, London in 1978. The business was ori ...

Motrio Motrio is a brand of spare automotive parts launched by Renault in 1998, covering both Renault/Dacia vehicles and other brands. Motrio also introduced a multibrand network of repairers in 2003. Development Motrio was created in 1998. The brand st ...

Nipparts Nipparts is a private company set up in 1981 and based in the Netherlands and supplies Japanese and Korean aftermarket car parts in Europe. Nipparts is next to Blue Print and Herth & Buss the market leading brand for Asian vehicle application ...

and

. The Asian retailer Autobacs Seven also has stores in France.

Australia and New Zealand

Repco and

Supercheap Auto Supercheap Auto is an Australian automotive parts and accessories retailer. It was founded in 1972, operating as a mail-order business and opened its first store in Brisbane in 1974. It now has 300 stores across Australia and New Zealand. H ...

are major rivals in the Australian and New Zealand markets, targeting both consumers and trade customers. Autobarn is a smaller competitor, but outranked the major rivals for consumer satisfaction in Australia in 2018. Ultra Tune also has stores around Australia.

Asia

Autobacs Seven operates in Asia, and also has stores in France.