The Road to AAPEX passes through every avenue of the automotive aftermarket in our final episode of the season. It all starts with parts manufacturing. David Sickels visits ZF’s headquarters in Farmington Hills, Michigan, to talk about TRW branded suspension and brake components, evolving from traditional brake maintenance practices, where technicians had to rebuild brake shoes, to modern innovations that simplify this process with pre-assembled kits.
From there, NexaMotion Group President and CEO Neil Sethi discusses distribution and evolving the company’s global supply chain, emphasizing the importance of maintaining affordable pricing through partnerships and supply chain optimization, which is a core strength of the aftermarket industry. NexaMotion Group is also keeping its eye on the future of powertrains, as Sethi notes the resurgence of hybrid vehicles, which are growing faster than electric vehicles (EVs).
Finally, we head into the service bay with Babcox Media Technician Eric Garbe, who gives us a technician’s view of a brake job on a 2014 Ford Mustang. Be sure to watch this final episode of this year’s Road to AAPEX before you head to the show this week.
Be sure to check out the previous episode of this season’s Road to AAPEX here:
- Episode 1: The Future Legacy of the Automotive Aftermarket
- Episode 2: The Colorful History of the Aftermarket
- Episode 3: A Look at Oil Filtration With Wix
- Episode 4: How Modern Repair Shops Have Evolved
- Episode 5: The Manufacturer, the Distributor and the Shop
- Episode 6: The Evolution of Automotive Belts and Hoses
- Episode 7: The Evolution of Ignition Systems
- Episode 8: Advanced Calibration Technology Is Transforming Automotive Service
- Episode 9: Exhaust System Evolution
- Episode 10: Getting Our Bearings
- Episode 11: Celebrating Technicians
