Last year, the Dutch brought their car to the workshop more often than ever for a service, inspection or repair, according to the Aftersales Monitor of the RAI Association on Wednesday.
In total, private cars of private individuals and small businesses were taken to a workshop 17.9 million times last year. This is the largest number of visits, inspections and repairs since the measurements started in 2009. It also marked an increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year, when cars were taken to the garage 16.2 million times.
Maintenance revenues for the workshops amounted to € 3.95 billion last year. That is 8 percent more than the year before and the highest amount since 2012. Although the amount spent at workshops was at its highest point in seven years, the average amount per inspection, repair or maintenance has fallen sharply in recent years. On average, the Dutch spent € 461 at a time last year, compared to € 670 ten years ago. Maintenance in particular has become cheaper.
This year, due to the corona crisis, things are going a lot less well with the workshops, according to the interest group for car manufacturers and importers. Like many other industries, the workplace cannot escape the negative effects of Covid-19. “The corona crisis is leaving deep marks in the mobility industry and the maintenance market is not spared”, says Steven van Eijck of the RAI Association. Because the end of the pandemic is not yet in sight, it is still unclear how big the consequences will be.