Photo: GDV
Jörg Asmussen: “Between August 2023 and August 2024, prices rose by an average of 6.2 percent. For radiator grilles it was even over ten percent.”
The costs for vehicle spare parts are rising disproportionately. While the consumer price index has increased by around 28 percent since 2014, car manufacturers have increased their spare parts prices by an average of almost 75 percent, a study shows. The development is to the detriment of insurers and customers.
Prices for automotive spare parts such as headlights, taillights and trunk lids have risen again. This emerges from a current evaluation by the General Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV). “While the inflation rate in Germany has recently fallen, car manufacturers continue to increase prices. Between August 2023 and August 2024, prices rose by an average of 6.2 percent. For radiator grilles it was even over ten percent,” criticizes Jörg Asmussen, general manager of GDV.
Trunk lids are now twice as expensive as they were ten years ago
This price increase is part of a long-term development that GDV has been observing for years, said Asmussen. “The costs for car spare parts are rising rapidly and are largely independent of general price developments.
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While the consumer price index has increased by around 28 percent since 2014, car manufacturers have increased their spare parts prices by an average of almost 75 percent,” said Asmussen. The GDV study shows: trunk lids and rear side walls are twice as expensive today as they were ten years ago, and the prices for taillights have risen by 86 percent.
Higher repair costs burden insurers and customers
For insurers, these rising spare part prices inevitably lead to significantly higher repair costs in the event of accidents. “Last year, the average property damage in a car’s motor vehicle liability insurance was around 4,000 euros – in 2013 it was still 2,500 euros,” says Asmussen. German motor vehicle insurers had to cope with losses of over three billion euros as early as 2023 due to increased repair costs. For 2024 they expect a further loss of around two billion euros.
How this cost development affects vehicle insurance premiums is a decision for each individual insurance company, emphasizes the GDV. However, Asmussen clarifies: “However, there is a clear connection between rising spare parts prices and insurance premiums.”
Virtual monopoly of car manufacturers when it comes to visible spare parts
The ongoing price increase is encouraged by a quasi-monopoly among car manufacturers. The so-called design protection not only protects the design of vehicles, but also that of all visible body spare parts such as fenders, hoods, exterior mirrors or doors.
“Motorists and workshops are forced to buy many of these spare parts directly from the car manufacturer,” criticizes Asmussen. Although a change in the law is intended to reform design protection, the existing rights of car manufacturers will be retained until 2045.
