The holidays are coming and many people choose this time of year to carry out the checkups and repairs necessary to hit the road safely.
Firstly, there is a prior and mandatory check that is carried out every year: the VTV, where the most important points of the vehicle are reviewed and measured. Although in many cases failures or breakages do not warn.
The question is, are there spare parts? Is it possible to get bumpers, optics, batteries or shock absorbers or mechanical spare parts? Clarion consulted the entire value chain: automotive companies, auto parts manufacturers, distributors and workshops.
All actors in the sector agree that the shortages are very specific, in some premium models for which they do or do apply. imported spare parts.
In those cases, in which they cannot be replaced by national auto parts, The waits are usually eternal, months long.
Covered market, prices through the roof
“There are more than 250 national auto parts manufacturers that meet and supply market demand. General spare parts, bumpers, batteries, shock absorbers, glass and optics, among others, are in distribution,” commented Juan Cantarella, general manager of AFAC.
Cantarella also explained that “imported parts are necessary to complement the local supply, and that depends a lot on the sector. There are areas where almost everything is covered with local production, and there are others that are not.”
Likewise, one of the automotive companies with the largest vehicle production in the country indicated to this medium that it has no shortage of spare parts in its after-sales network, thus being able to meet the demands of its customers.
For his part, Néstor Etman, owner of Etman, one of the largest auto parts distributors nationwide, with 23% market penetration, followed the same line.
“In our case we never stop distributing auto parts. We have an orderly system that allows us to comply with all our clients,” indicated from the distributor based in Bahía Blanca whose suppliers are Renault, General Motors and the giant Stellantis (Fiat, Jeep , Peugeot and Citroën, among others).
From Etman they also explained that there may be shortages of some original spare parts, such as spark plugs, clutches, discs and brake bands, but that the alternative offer is enough to provide coverage and that no one who needs this type of spare parts is left with the car stopped.
There is a lack of imported spare parts, but the local supply is sufficient so that the most common repairs can be carried out, they say in the workshops.The last link in the chain is the taller. Normally it is the mechanics who are in charge of obtaining the necessary parts at the spare parts sales houses. They are the ones who have the overview of what is and is not available on the street.
Gustavo Andrade, mechanic and owner of Andrade, a workshop specialized in comprehensive services, stated that so far he has had no problems carrying out his work due to lack of spare parts.
He did emphasize that this happens in parts that come from abroad such as electrical modules, although they are more complex repairs.
Today perhaps the main problem is the abrupt rise in prices which causes the car to be parked for a while.
To cite some examples, a VW Gol distribution kit costs no less than $100.000 or changing the windshield of a national Peugeot 208 can cost between $ 300.000 y $ 500.000. All this without labor included.
In this sense, Etman clarified that as a result of the sharp rise in prices, demand will be very limited. “It is important that suppliers work on a pricing strategy so that people can buy them and thus not generate stagnation.”
