Used car boom makes waiting for parts four months

The shortage of components and the price of inputs, problems felt by automakers throughout 2021, should affect consumers more in 2022.

Last year, the lack of new cars for prompt delivery fueled an 18.8% increase in used car deals compared to the previous year. Whether to get a better value when selling or the need to make revisions and repairs after buying, such vehicles demand parts.

The figures from Sindipeças (National Union of Automotive Components Industry) reflect this demand. In 2020, sales by component manufacturers for the aftermarket segment totaled BRL 24.6 billion, which represented 19.5% of the sector’s total revenue.

Data for 2021 are being closed, but the estimate shows that the value has risen to R$ 32.3 billion. The growth could be even greater if there weren’t so many snags.

“There was an increase in demand, but we have a situation limited by problems of inputs and logistical issues, with supply difficulties affecting the whole world”, says George Rugitsky, economic director of Sindipeças. “All distributors have delays.”

These delays result in problems such as that of Fabricio Fudissaku, an expert in consumer behavior trends. He waited 55 days to receive the dashboard center console of his 2018 Hyundai Creta. The part, which is made of plastic, had been stolen along with the car’s multimedia center.

“They presented four deadlines for delivery, but they did not meet”, says the owner of the SUV, who made the first request in November.

In a note, Hyundai Motor do Brasil explains that the delay in delivery was an isolated case and occurred due to the need to import low-turnover items from South Korea – and also as a result of global logistical difficulties due to the pandemic.

“The manufacturer reinforces that the after-sales department has been constantly working so that all customers are served within the stipulated deadlines”, concludes the company.

The logistical problems mentioned by Hyundai emerged in 2020, shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of ports and airports.

“The automotive industry absorbed the impact, as the first reflex was the drop in sales and use of vehicles, which led to the cancellation of supply contracts”, says Frederico Favacho, a lawyer specializing in logistics and partner at Santos Neto.

Favacho says that this first impact lasted from two to three months, until activities began to be resumed around the world through agribusiness and, then, by the increase in demand for electronic equipment. There was an abrupt return in demand for containers, and then the breakdown of the logistics chain occurred.

The expert explains that, right at the beginning of the pandemic, there was a sharp drop in the price of transport in containers. In October 2019, freight for a unit with a capacity to load 20 tons was US$1,450. A few months later, the value had dropped to $800.

But the discount was short-lived. The resumption of maritime transport took place at an accelerated rate and new routes emerged, which resulted in a shortage of containers. There were cases in which they were dispatched with equipment to combat Covid-19 and, without merchandise to bring back, they were stopped in ports of countries with no export tradition.

“Freights reached US$ 12 thousand [20 toneladas] between December and January, but then dropped slightly, returning to US$ 10,000”, says Favacho. He believes that prices will continue to rise for a while longer, but should begin to decline later this year.

If transport became more expensive, the goods followed suit. And in the case of the automotive industry, it wasn’t just that.

“There have been some increases, with a higher price tag for semi-synthetic lubricants and other petroleum-based products”, says Charles Rafael Barros dos Anjos, owner of the Modelo T auto parts store in Rio. In this case, the problem is due to quotations international markets, in the same way as with gasoline diesel.

The rises in steel have raised the values ​​of body parts and engine components, and there are still shortages. The older the car, the longer the delivery delays.

Civil servant Ronaldo Messias had to wait four months for components to arrive to repair the engine of his 2008 Toyota Corolla Fielder. According to the automaker, not all parts were available in stock. After noticing the longer-than-normal delay, the company made a spare car available for the customer.

“We are missing mainly the captive parts, which are those produced by the automakers themselves. There are parts that take two months to arrive, such as bumpers”, says Antonio Carlos Fiola, president of Sindirepa (repair union). According to the entity’s estimate, the components supplied by car manufacturers rose, on average, 17% in the comparison between 2020 and 2021.

Fiola confirms that the workshops are going through a good moment due to the increase in used car sales. “With the difficulty in delivering new vehicles, the fleet has aged in the last two years, which increases the demand for maintenance.”

Workshop margins, however, are strangled by high input prices. “The kilo of tin used in solders, for example, went from R$ 100 to R$ 250 in recent months”, says Márcia Donha, owner of MSD Garage, in São Bernardo do Campo (Greater São Paulo). “We missed some materials at the end of the year, but I see that the market is settling down.”

This accommodation should occur throughout 2022, but entrepreneurs in the used car sector are still betting on sales growth.

“Our market grew 30% between 2020 and 2021, and I expect a 20% increase in 2020”, says Márcio Leitão, executive president of BMZ Concessionárias Digitais.

Enilson Sales. president of Fenauto (association of used vehicle dealers), believes that 2022 will be “a challenging year”. In addition to the health crisis not yet over, the January results indicate a slowdown.

“We have concerns about rising inflation, exchange rate fluctuations and, to conclude, we are in an election year, which always affects the mood of the economy”, says Sales, in a note.

While the buying and selling market adjusts, suppliers try to resume normality to supply both automakers and the aftermarket.

“The big issue was that, at the beginning of the pandemic, companies did not know what would happen. of the pandemic”, says George Rugitsky, from Sindipeças.