In 2021, Canada had approximately 40 million registered vehicles. This figure includes buses, trucks, cars, motorcycles, and mopeds, among other registrable vehicles, making the automotive industry one of the most profitable industries to try your hands on. Many Canadian car owners choose to get repairs from third-party car shops instead of car dealerships, creating a huge market for aftermarket car parts. If you want to venture into the aftermarket car parts industry, this guide can fill in on what you may need to know about the industry before you invest your hard-earned money.
Start Small
You do not have to start with selling every car part there is. After all, you may not have the budget for such an undertaking. Also, you want your customers to know you as an expert in one area before you can venture into multiple products.
Building a reputation with a specific aftermarket part can give you an advantage when introducing other products, as your customers will already associate you with quality. After you have mastered your art in one part, you can move on to other products if you must diversify. But the best rule of thumb is picking a niche.
Aim for Value
As an aftermarket part maker, you must realize that other products in the market serve the same purpose as the products you offer.
Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and second-hand part dealers will be your biggest competition. OEMs are the car manufacturing companies that will have a slight edge over you, as many car owners consider them reliable.
So you have to offer value that will make car owners want to choose your aftermarket car parts over OEM parts. One way of offering value is creating a part that does a better job than the original.
A good example of an aftermarket part that offers better value than its alternative OEM part is Billy Westbrook’s Scrubblade, a wiper blade that removes more than water from the windshield to get rid of bugs, grime, and tough dirt. By offering a superior blade, Westbrook offers more value than OEM blades.
Industrial Design Registration and Design Patents Are Essential Before Market Entry
If your aftermarket creations are unique, you may want to ensure that you alone have the rights to the creations. The only way of ensuring your creations are not replicated is by registering their patents and industrial design.
Patent Registration
Patent registrations apply for new inventions or significant improvements to an existing product. Registering a patent gives you an exclusive right to create and profit from your creations.
Patent protections last for 20 years, allowing an inventor a head start before others can create similar products. If another party copies your invention, you can legally stop them or sue them for infringement.
Industrial Design Registration
If your creation is not an invention, it may not qualify for patent protection. But you could apply for an industrial design registration if the design is unique, which gives you exclusive rights to the design.
Securing exclusive rights is particularly important because the design can distinguish your products and others in the market. Like patent registration, industrial design registration has a definite expiry date. Industrial design protections run for 15 years from the date of application for registration. However, you will have to pay a maintenance fee every year the protections are in place.
Create a Marketing Strategy
While having your designs, patents, and everything ready is a good way to start, moving your products will require putting them in front of the eyes that matter. In other words, you will need a marketing strategy.
If you have been in the automotive industry for some time, you could have connections that could help you make inroads. But if you are an inventor without much experience with market dynamics, you may want to get the help of a automotive marketing agency.