December 13, 2020 07:00 PM

Service Counter: Repair downturn a result of the pandemic

The pandemic's toll

There were nearly 126 million repair orders at U.S. new-car dealerships during the first half of 2020, resulting in total parts and service sales of $51.94 billion — down from $64.62 billion a year earlier. Here are some other figures from the midyear 2020 NADA Data financial profile and the change from same period in 2019.

Body blows

As measured by percentage decline in service labor sales, body shop business suffered the most. Dollars in billions.
Customer mechanical	$9.14	–15%
Warranty	$4.73	–18%
Internal	$3.73	–19%
Customer body	$1.73	–22%
Sublet	$1.62	–20%
Other	$1.76	–22%
Total	$22.71	–18%

Wholesale declines

As measured by percentage decline in service parts sales, wholesale and body shop business suffered the most. Dollars in billions.
Wholesale	$8.28	–19%
Customer mechanical	$7.95	–16%
Warranty	$5.85	–12%
Internal	$2.74	–17%
Customer body	$1.63	–19%
Counter	$1.46	–8.8%
Other	$2.91	–20%
Total	$30.82	–17%

Silver linings

The average dealership saw drops in most parts and service performance measures, but the dollar value of repair orders rose.
Sales	$3.1 million	–16%
Number of repair orders written	7,545	–22%
Sales per customer repair order	$329	5.80%
Sales per warranty repair order	$385	12%
Number of technicians (including body shop)	15	–6.3%
Customer mechanical labor rate	$131	6.50%
Total parts inventory	$405,818	–8.1%

Total recall

The number of light vehicles recalled in 2019 — excluding those called back because of faulty Takata airbags — grew to 28 million, up 6 million vehicles from the previous year. The number of individual recall campaigns for light vehicles also increased, to a record 317, according to the 2020 Automotive Defect & Recall Report by consulting firm Stout. Other highlights:

Group of 7

There were 7 non-Takata campaigns in 2019 that each affected more than 1 million vehicles. Together, they accounted for more than one-third of U.S. recalls. They were:
GM brakes (3.5 million vehicles)
Ford automatic transmission (1.3 million)
Subaru brake lights (1.3 million)
Ford suspension (1.2 million)
Nissan backup camera (1.2 million)
FCA tailgate latch (1.1 million)
Honda airbags (1.1 million)

Finished fixes

Percentage of completed recalls
2018	83%
2017	78%
2016	80%

Problem parts

The top 3 component groupings that had the most vehicles affected by recalls in 2019:
Brakes (4.7 million vehicles)
Powertrain (2.7 million)
Exterior lighting (2.5 million)