A Look at Auto Parts: Body & Trim Parts for the Interior and Exterior

Introduction

It is no wonder why the auto parts and automotive body and trim manufacturers for the interior and exterior of vehicles is a multi billion dollar a year industry.

Some General Information Autos and Auto Parts

The United States is the largest passenger vehicle market in the world. There were an estimated 243,023,485 registered passenger vehicles in the United States in 2004. Over the years this number has steadily increased along with the age of vehicles, which indicates an overall growing number of vehicles on the road today.

Out of these 243 million vehicles, 56% of them were classified as cars, another 38% were classified as SUV’s and pick-up trucks and another 2% were classified as truck combinations.
Statistics show that the number of motor vehicles has been increasing steadily since 1960.

In a recent study conducted by the National Automobile Dealers Association, they found that the average age of vehicles in operation in the United States today was older than in previous years. The study revealed that 38.3% were older than ten years, 22.3% were between seven and ten years old, 25.8% were between three and six years old and 13.5% were less than two years old. Overall 60.6% of all vehicles were older than seven years.

In 2004, there were 7,505,932 passenger cars sold in the United States. These figures include domestic and imported vehicles. The number of vehicles sold in the US has been decreasing at a gradual rate since 1999.

The Demand for Trim -- Finding the Right Auto Parts

Statistics also show that the population of licensed drivers has grown significantly since 1960, but the trend of the number of motor vehicles has outnumbered its growth, showing that more and more people own more than one vehicle. The demand for all types of auto parts, including body trim and related items, is growing significantly all of the time -- and is expected to continue to keep growing well into the future as well.

With these statistics it is quite visible why the auto body and trim business has grown over the last few years. More of the cars on the road are older and require replacement of various exterior and interior parts as maintenance. Additionally, with the rise of the number of cars on the roads, the numbers of collisions have grown as well.

There are hundreds of different vehicles on the road today, both domestic and imports, and each they have hundreds of body and trim parts. The market for parts is massive.
To find a specific body or trim part for your specific vehicle, you may want to contact your local automobile dealership or check online at www.mysimon.com or www.car-stuff.com.\