Your Aftersales Performance Could Make or Break Your Deal...

As new vehicle margins tighten and customer expectations rise, Parts & Service departments have become critical revenue drivers for OEMs and dealerships alike.

With cars staying on the road longer than ever — and the independent aftermarket growing rapidly — winning in aftersales is no longer optional. It’s essential.

The good news? There are simple, actionable strategies that dealerships can implement to lift efficiency, boost revenue and improve customer experience — without a full-scale transformation.

In this blog series, we’ll break down the top 10 ways to increase aftersales performance based on our latest whitepaper.

Want all 10 tactics now?
Download/Read the full whitepaper: 10 Ways to Increase Aftersales Performance Next Week

Why Aftersales Matters More Than Ever

In 2024, the average age of a vehicle on U.S. roads hit a record 12.6 years, according to S&P Global Mobility. And by 2028, the number of vehicles aged 6 to 14 years is expected to grow another 12% compared to 2020.

Many of these vehicles will be on their second, third, or fourth owners. This creates golden opportunities for dealership aftersales teams:

More maintenance and repair opportunities
More chances to build brand trust
Stronger foundation for future vehicle sales

The Challenge: Aftersales vs Aftermarket

These opportunities can also bring its own set of challenges. Dealerships are facing fierce competition from the aftermarket. The independent aftermarket is boomingand projected to grow from $425 billion in 2023 to $576 billion by 2031.

To stay competitive, dealerships must deliver better service to their customers, by doing it more efficiently and with greater transparency.

The Revenue Opportunity in Aftersales

According to NADA, the numbers speak for themselves:

49% of a dealership’s gross profit comes from service departments
13.2% of total dealership sales dollars in 2024 were from service and parts

Yet, many service departments are still underperforming and not maximising their revenue opportunities. A recent Armstrong Watson report found that overall workshop efficiency sits at just 81% – well below the 100% benchmark.

So what’s dragging the aftersales performance down? A mixture of non-productive hours, technician shortages, workflow bottlenecks and outdated systems.

“The number of non-productive hours remains at unsustainable levels and needs to be addressed”

– Steve Preston, audit partner at Armstrong Watson.

What This Blog Series Will Cover

In the coming weeks, we’ll break down 10 high-impact strategies that improves aftersales performance immediately. These tactics are already delivering results for top-performing dealerships and can be carried out with minimal disruption.

You’ll learn how to:

Eliminate wasted technician time
Improve upsell conversion rates
Build accurate customer quotes faster
Automate appointment scheduling
Speed up vehicle checkouts
Launch a profitable online parts store

Whether you’re a Dealer Principal, Service Manager or OEM partner, our blog series is your guide to driving aftersales performance in a digital-first world.