The European aftermarket for car components is facing immense challenges. In this market, still dominated by new parts, remanufactured auto parts will gain a strong market relevance in the next years. 

wolk after sales experts has launched a questionnaire about the use of REMAN auto parts in mechanical garages.
The questionnaire was carried out in Germany, Turkey, Sweden and Poland.

  • the share of remanufactured parts of total parts purchase for passenger cars and
  • how they expect the turnover with remanufactured parts to develop in 2013.

Helmut Wolk, CEO of wolk after sales experts observes a clear demand by the parts manufacturers for intensified reman activities in the aftermarket.

Activating factors for Reman auto parts are:

  • the increasing number of achievements of remanufacturers, for example in quality, quantity and marketing (public awareness)
  • the growing margin pressure within new auto parts
  • requests by the European commission for a better recycling and ecology in the aftermarket for car parts.

The company wolk after sales experts intents to analyze the growing market of REMAN auto parts with a European market expertise for important product groups in selected countries (for more information – REMAN market survey).

Share of Reman parts of total parts purchased for passenger cars

The interviews in these four countries show a positive turnover expectation by garage owners.
An interesting country seems to be Turkey. 35% of the requested mechanical garages mentioned to gain more than 30% with reman parts. Furthermore they expected an increase of 31% for Reman parts in the next year.

Increasing turnover expections in 2013 for Reman parts


What means remanufacturing automotive parts?

A remanufactured part is the equivalant to or even better functioning than the original part. It is restored from an existing part (core), using standardized industrial processes in line with specific technical specifications.
A remanufactured part comes with the same warranty as a new part and is clearly identified as a remanufactured part.
The name of the remanufacturer is also cleary marked.
Automotive remanufacturing reduces global emission by preventing the melting down and manufacturing process that would take place otherwise.

Note: a remanufactured part is different from a reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, reworked or reconditioned part. (source: http://www.apra-europe.org)

Other forms of product recovery (not remanufactured)

  • Reuse implies that items are used by a second customer without prior repair operations or as originally designed.
  • Repair: the process of bringing damaged components back to a functional condition.
  • Refurbishing/Reconditioning is the process of restoring components to a functional and/or satisfactory state to the original specification, using methods such as resurfacing, repainting, etc.
  • Recycling is the process of taking a component material and processing it to make the same material or useful degraded material.

Commonly remanufactured automotive parts

Remanufacturing Mechanical Auto Parts:
Mechanical auto parts made up of metals and rubbers basically all start with the same approach. These items are completely disassembled, cleaned, and inspected. The metal components, whether they are cast iron or stainless steel, are thoroughly inspected and even tested for the slightest flaws or damage. Any non-repairable flaws in these core parts are either replaced or the whole part is discarded completely.

Remanufacturing Electrical Auto Parts:
Electronic auto parts have no moving parts. They are computer-like parts, control units, and modules made up of a hard plastic or metal casing housing with delicate and complex circuitry. The remanufacturing process for electronic equipment starts with gently taking the item apart and delicately cleaning the entire item. The unit then undergoes a series of testing and a very detailed inspection to identify all broken or failing connections that caused the module to fail in the first place, but it also prevents future failure by reinforcing seemingly good connections even if they may not require it.

Remanufacturing Glossary (by APRA):

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English German
core Altteil
deposit / refund Pfand
rebuild wiederaufbauen
recondition wiederherstellen
reconstruct wiederaufbauen
recycle recyceln
refurbish aufpolieren
remanufacture instandsetzen (refabrikation)
renew erneuern
repair reparieren / erneuern
restore restaurieren
reuse wiederverwenden