Emission Systems
New exhaust technologies bring new opportunitiesBetter quality parts are steadily driving down sales of exhaust parts, and yet Klarius believes that there are a number of ways in which factors can drive their sales back up.
Over the years, the quality of the exhaust products has improved significantly, helping to extend the average life of exhaust parts by several years. This is true of both original parts and aftermarket products. The rise in popularity of diesel, which is kinder to exhaust materials, and the reduction in the number of miles being driven are also contributing to the downward pressure on sales of exhaust parts. While this is great news for motorists, it means that garages no longer see so much simple exhaust work, which has led to a steady decline in sales over the last two decades. And yet, despite all of this, the UK’s emission control market is still a lucrative sector, worth £130 million annually. Manufacturers are bringing new cars and new technologies to market more quickly than ever before and the variety of exhaust system parts is increasing all the time. New emission regulations are a major driver of technological change and have opened the door to new sales opportunities thanks to new products such as diesel particulate filters (DPFs). Fewer sales but more parts For the motor factor, the falling demand for exhaust parts has been complicated by a dramatic increase in part numbers. With more parts needed to service fewer applications, the factor has a dilemma: how to satisfy the commercial desire to capture every sale without tying up too much cash in slow moving stock?
Exhaust components are relatively bulky items and when it comes to CATs and DPFs they can be high value ones too, so in either case you don’t want to lose valuable warehouse space with slow moving products. There is a careful balance to be met between what to stock locally, how much to invest, how much space to allocate and which products to stock. The table below shows that by stocking just the fastest selling products locally, businesses can keep their own stock, satisfying up to 75% of anticipated demand with less than 10% of the available product variants, or stock-keeping units (SKUs). New technologies bring new opportunities Buying trends change over time as new technologies hit the aftermarket. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) is fast becoming a standard component on diesel vehicles because it can help vehicle manufacturers meet the Euro 5 particulate limit of 0.005/km. As the first OEM filters are beginning to fail, the replacement market is growing rapidly. DPFs are a relatively high value item with a range of failure modes and Klarius has just extended its product range of both catalyst and DPFs. Klarius already provides around 50 Type Approved DPF references, and a similar number of Euro 4 only items to match older applications. New additions include popular references such as; Peugeot (PSA Group), BMW & Mini, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki, Jaguar and Nissan applications. You should also look out for new additions to the Euro 5 range for both filter only and combined catalyst and filter applications. Some specific applications are being highlighted where the OEM product is problematic, and replacements are needed sooner than expected. Klarius carefully monitors demand to identify which applications are likely to be ready for replacement parts. This development not only involves the specification of the product, but importantly the testing and Type Approval to ensure the important regeneration process. Furthermore, Klarius operates a “manufacture on-demand system”, frequently completing new type-approved designs in a matter of weeks and then producing them in small batches if necessary, then flexible manufacturing can be matched to national market demand. The PSA Group and Vauxhall were among the first manufacturers to introduce this technology, and consequently they are amongst the most popular applications for DPF replacement Making the cross-sell easier The most cost effective way to ensure that new exhaust system components stay securely in the correct place is to use a combined fitting kit, making this a great opportunity to do a bit of cross-selling. Using the correct fitting kit ensures that the correct installation mountings are used and that the exhaust is sealed effectively. It also ensures that you adhere to the warranty conditions of the parts manufacturer, many of which state that a warranty will become void if the old fittings are not replaced. Sourcing exhaust parts made easy The entire Klarius range, offers you everything from a CAT for a two year old city car, through to the exhaust system for rare 70’s sports car. IN NUMBERS: £130 million – annual value of UK’s emission control market 75% of anticipated demand can be satisfied with less than 10% of the available product variants 2> million – the number of exhausts manufactured annually at Klarius’ UK manufacturing base 50 – the number of Type Approved DPF references in Klarius’ range 0.005/km - Euro 5 particulate limit for vehicles first registered after September 2009
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