2025 Automotive Aftermarket M&A Report
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2025 Automotive Aftermarket M&A Report
The Definitive Report on Consolidation, Valuations, and Institutional Investment Across the Automotive Aftermarket
2025 Annual Edition Covering Market Forces, Deal Activity, and a Sector-Wide Outlook for 2026
The U.S. automotive aftermarket is undergoing one of the most transformative shifts in its history. Once a fragmented, operator-led collection of businesses, the industry has evolved into a sophisticated, data-driven ecosystem attracting some of the most active private equity sponsors in the world. With total aftermarket size approaching ~$2T, including ~$500–600B across traditional service categories, the sector reflects precisely what institutional investors seek: essentiality, recurring demand, and large whitespace for consolidation. As record-high valuations and cheap capital recede into the past, today’s market is defined by discipline. Platform launches have slowed, add-on strategies have become more targeted, and operators are focused on densification and unit-level performance improvements. Yet across all subsectors, from quick lube to tires, collision repair, parts, accessories, car wash, and more, tailwinds remain strong.
- State of the Industry: A sector-wide analysis of the forces reshaping the aftermarket: interest rates, tariff pressures, supply chain volatility, EV adoption slowing materially, and widespread portfolio overlap among top PE firms.
- M&A Activity Across Verticals: Five-year transaction trends across collision and quick lube, including 2025’s pronounced decline in deal count and the shift toward larger add-on acquisitions rather than new platform creation.
- Valuation Insights: Normalized valuation levels across multiple categories, with a growing divide between premium, high-revenue assets and underperforming operations. Detailed EV/EBITDA multiple charts from 2019–2026P demonstrate how each vertical has landed post-COVID.
- Sponsor & Strategic Buyer Landscape: A full view of the private equity sponsors most active in automotive, including the median ~15% portfolio allocation to auto and the continued rise of multi-brand service platforms intended to increase customer retention and reduce cyclicality.
- Key Transformative Transactions: Breakdowns of 2025’s landmark deals, with implications for consolidation maturity, capital discipline, and competitive dynamics across the industry.
This report provides industry leaders, operators, and investors with a data-driven, sector-wide perspective on where the automotive aftermarket is heading, and how 2026’s anticipated rate cuts may unlock pent-up capital and accelerate dealmaking.
Download the complete report to stay ahead of shifting market dynamics and position your company for the next cycle.
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If you own a mid-sized aftermarket automotive services company and would like to connect, we’re here to help and would be delighted to begin a confidential dialogue today.
