LKQ Europe has published a new industry roadmap, as it looks to ensure the aftermarket can become a reliable, sustainable and commercially viable sector.
As part of a new white paper, the company is seeking the industry to commit to coordinated action across Europe, with new, resused, recycled and remanufactured parts working together for the benefit of suppliers, workshops, and drivers.
The recommendations form part of the paper: Safeguarding the future of vehicle repair: How Europe can keep mobility cost-effective and sustainable. This brings together expertise from across LKQ Europe’s aftermarket, remanufacturing, salvage, EV repair and public affairs operations.
LKQ Europe sets priorities
The business has drawn on its knowledge across the entire aftermarket spectrum to highlight how the industry can progress further.
The roadmap sets out 10 priorities that LKQ Europe believes are critical to safeguarding the future of accessible and sustainable vehicle repair across the continent.
These 10 points are:
- Treat cost effectiveness and sustainability as inseparable goals
- Scale the adoption of reused, recycled and remanufactured parts
- Professionalize alternative parts supply chains across Europe
- Improve quality, warranty and traceability standards
- Expand access to vehicle and parts data
- Accelerate EV and battery repair capability
- Invest in technician training and workforce readiness
- Encourage greater collaboration across the repair ecosystem
- Support repair-first decision making
- Build greater trust and transparency across the aftermarket
Challenges can be reduced
“European vehicle repair is approaching a critical turning point,” highlighted Andy Hamilton, President & Executive Managing Director at LKQ Europe. “Workshops and bodyshops are under pressure from rising costs, increasing vehicle complexity, electrification and growing sustainability expectations – all while motorists and insurers continue to demand affordable repair outcomes.
“The central argument in this paper is that economic sustainability and environmental sustainability can work together. Done properly, sustainable repair should help reduce costs, extend vehicle life and improve repair viability across the aftermarket.
“But no single business, insurer, repairer or policymaker can solve these challenges alone. The future of repair will depend on the entire ecosystem working together – alongside commercially workable regulation and better access to repair and vehicle data – to build a more connected, circular and economically sustainable repair model.”
A major focus of the report is expanding the use of reused, recycled OE and remanufactured parts as a mainstream repair solution across Europe, alongside new parts, giving customers and repairers greater access to the most appropriate solution for every repair. This builds on the capabilities of LKQ Synetiq’s salvage and recycling operations and LKQ Europe’s wider remanufacturing and salvage network.
The whitepaper highlights how the “right part for the right repair” approach can help control rising repair costs while reducing environmental impact. Industry estimates cited in the report show remanufactured and reused parts can cost between 30% and 60% less than equivalent new OEM components, while recycled OE parts can deliver savings of up to 60% in some repair scenarios.
LKQ Europe argues that wider adoption will depend on improving availability, traceability, warranty consistency and integration into insurer and repair workflows – helping alternative parts become a routine specification choice rather than a secondary option.
EV battery repair is important
The paper also highlights the growing importance of EV battery repair capability and specialist high-voltage expertise, including through LKQ Electriq’s specialist EV battery repair operations, as electrified vehicles become a larger proportion of Europe’s vehicle parc.
It warns that without greater investment in technician training, specialist repair infrastructure and access to vehicle data, the aftermarket risks developing repair bottlenecks as vehicle technology becomes increasingly complex.
To help address this, LKQ Europe has committed to upskilling 24,000 technicians across 13 European countries by 2028 through EV diagnostics, high-voltage safety and modern repair training programs under the European Commission’s Mobility Transition Pathway initiative.
As well as LKQ Synetiq and LKQ Electriq, the paper includes contributions and insight from LKQ Atracco, one of the Nordic region’s leading automotive recyclers, alongside LKQ Europe’s remanufacturing leadership team and EU public affairs function.
