The bodywork market - France

1.2 Sustained growth in the global market

According to a study by Business Research Company, the global automotive bodywork market is estimated at ***.** billion in ****with annual growth projections of +*% between **** and ****. The market should therefore be worth more than ***.** billion in ****[***].

The European market accounts for around **.*% of bodybuilder sales worldwide. The region with the strongest growth forecasts is Asia-Pacific.

According to the same source, the leaders in the global bodywork market include *M, Federal-Mogul Holding Corporation and ZF Friedrichshafen.

Despite the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to Business Research Company, the global market is expected to grow at a CAGR of *.*% to ****.

Sales in the global bodywork market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

1.3 European production: Germany leads the way

The CCFA, the French automobile manufacturers' association, has unveiled figures for European vehicle production in ****, showing the value and volume of production by bodybuilder in the European Union, by country.

In ****, France accounted for **.*% market share for bodybuilders in the European Union in terms of production. The other major markets are in United Kingdom (***).

Breakdown of bodybuilder production European Union, ****, % Source: ****

1.4 French business on the rise

sales figures

In ****, sales for the French businesses involved in the manufacture and production of bodies for cars, buses, coaches and other vehicles used for passenger transportation totaled *.** billion euros.[***]The sector's sales increased between **** and ****, with the exception of the COVID-** crisis in ****. In ****, the sector's sales reached *.** billion euros.

Foreign trade

According to French Customs data (***), total bodywork exports in **** amounted to *** millioneuros, while imports peaked at *** million euros.

The main customer countries for **** are Belgium, l'Germany andItaly.

The main supplier countries for **** are Sweden and germany.

Main foreign bodywork customers France, ****, % of total Source: ****

Main foreign supplier countries in the bodywork sector France, ****, % Source: ****

1.5 Methodological note

Production data at European level includes the following activities:

Bodies for motor vehicles and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (***) Bodies for trucks, vans, buses, coaches, tractors, dumpers and special motor vehicles, including fully equipped and incomplete bodies, vehicles for the transport of ≥ ** people

The activities and products used to compile the foreign trade figures are :

Bodies for the assembly of passenger cars (***) Bodies for passenger cars (***) Bodies for the assembly of power tillers, goods vehicles with diesel or semi-diesel engines, cubic capacity <= **** cm³ or with spark-ignition piston engines spark-ignition piston engine (***) Tractor bodies, vehicles for the transport of >= ** persons, including the driver, vehicles for the transport of goods and special-purpose vehicles (***)

2.1 Main customers

The main determinants of demand for bodywork are trends in road transport, the number of cars sold and therefore of new registrations, and construction activities (***).

Trends in road transport

After a sharp rise in the number of truck registrations in France from **** to ****, the number of registered trucks will stabilize at **,*** new registrations in ****.

trend in truck and similar vehicle registrations France, ****-****, in number of vehicles Source: ****

Number of registrations

In ****, the number of new registrations has increased compared to the previous year (***), there were *,***,*** registrations. [***]

Number of new registrations by body type France, ****,% Source: ****

2.2 Road accidents

Another determinant of demand for body repair services is, ofcourse, the number of road accidents. **** was an upward year for road deaths, after many years of decline.according to Sécurité Routière, the figure has risen to *,*** deaths, the same level as in ****.

The following graph shows that in ****, **,*** road accidents were recorded according to the same source.

Trends in annual road deaths Metropolitan France, ****-****, in number of people Source: ****

2.3 Requests to bodybuilders

The role of bodybuilders is to transform the vehicles supplied by carmakers. For example, a truck homologated by a manufacturer can become a fire truck, a removal truck or a people carrier.

They produce three categories of road vehicles:

Light commercial vehicles Industrial vehicles (***) Trailers, semi-trailers, tippers and containers

Vehicle customization is therefore a key element in the role of bodybuilder-constructors, and is based on * areas of improvement[***] :

Reducing body weight Optimization of vehicle volume and payload Optimizing the use of materials Improving material resistance Simplification of loading phases

This bodybuilder business segment is represented by the Fédération Française des Carrossiers subsidiary of the Fédération Française des Carrossiers, which has two other subsidiaries: Equipementier and Réparateur.

2.4 Regional and departmental demand for bodywork

Demand for bodywork depends on the region's economic dynapmism and population. The region with the highest number of registrations is Île-de-France, with **,**** registrations in ****. [***]

Source: ****

Some regions are particularly dynamic: Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhônes-Alpes and Hauts-de-France. We can also build this map on a departmental level to get a more detailed picture of body shop needs.

Source: ****

France's most populous départements, with the biggest cities, are those with the highest number of new registrations. These include: the departments of the Paris region, with the city of Paris, Hauts-de-Seine, Oise and Yvelines; the department of Nord, with the city of Lille; the department of Bouches-du-Rhônes, with the cities of Aix-en-Provence and Marseille; and the department of Rhônes , with the city of Lyon...

3.1 The three business segments

The bodybuilder professions can be divided into three areas depending on the work performed, as indicated by the structure of the French Federation of Bodybuilders:

Manufacturers

This segment comprises *** companies registered to the FFC. It covers all activities relating to the design, construction, conversion and fitting of bodies for all types of vehicles.

Equipment manufacturers

Some sixty companies are registered with the FFC Equipementiers, and their activities and products can be summed up as follows:

Bodywork equipment Paint Manufacture of measuring and straightening benches Products and accessories Information systems with costing management software.

Repairers

This subsidiary covers all vehicle body maintenance and repair activities, representing a total of some *,*** employees and nearly *,*** specialized companies.

3.2 A highly fragmented market

The number of body and trailer manufacturers registered on the URSSAF website was *,*** in ****, up ** units on ****. The main players in this market are Jean Chéreau (***). These three players thus represent **% of the *.** billion euros of sales in the French bodywork market in ****.

Gruau and its ** subsidiaries also represent a major market player.

Market share of leading body and trailer manufacturers France, ****, % Source: ****

3.3 French industrial fabric

Employees and companies

Of the **** French companies listed in ****,*** had between * and * employees, i.e. **.*% of companies. Only ** had more than *** employees. [***]

According to the same source, in terms of workforce, body and trailer manufacturing concentrated**,*** employees. Companies with fewer than * employees accounted for **.*% of the workforce, while large companies with more than *** employees accounted for **.*% of total payroll. There employees** employees on average per company.

Geographical distribution

The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region accounts for the lion's share of companies, with **% of employees in **** and **.*% of companies. The Pays de la Loire and Grand Est regions come second and third in this ranking, as can be seen in the table belowtable below.

Source: ****

Growth in the number of employees and companies in the bodywork market France, ****-****, in number of companies and employees Source: ****

There was a contraction in the number of companies in ****, even as the number of employees continued to rise until the COVID-** crisis in ****. The increase in company size in **** was slowed by the COVID-** crisis, but an upward trend can be seen in ****.

4.1 Types of vehicle silhouettes

There are generally three types of vehicle silhouettes linked to their bodywork[***] :

Tricorps or trivolume Two-body or two-volume Unibody or single-volume

The first, characterized by their three-body silhouette, correspond to classic sedan models, with a first section for the engine, a second for the passenger compartment and a final section for the trunk. Viewed from the side, the vehicle appears to be made up of three different volumes.

The hatchback silhouette is closer more closely resembles estate, *x* or city car models, in which the engine forms the first part of the volume, and the passenger compartment with integrated trunk forms the second part of the vehicle.

Last but not least, the unibody silhouette refersfinally, the unibody silhouette refers either to very small city cars, or to large MPVs, such as the Renault Twingo on one end or the Fiat Multipla on the other. On these models, the bodywork seen in profile forms an almost continuous line from the engine to the trunk.

Car models by general shape also include :

Sedans Station wagons MPVs *x*s City cars Coupés Limousines Convertibles

4.2 Bodybuilder products and services

As we sawpreviously, bodybuilders have a strong presence in the refurbishment and conversion of light commercial vehicles this service is aimed almost exclusively at specialized professionals, such as advertising distribution vehicles, delivery trucks, undertakers, etc.

Billing

According toiNSEE's annual production survey (***) the structure of invoicing in the bodywork and trailer sector breaks down as follows:

Breakdown of invoices among bodywork and trailer manufacturing activities France, **** Source: ****

We can therefore see thatbodywork activitiesdo indeed concentrate the bodywork and trailer manufacturing sector, which leads the way in invoicing.

4.3 Production, import and export prices

production

According to Eurostat data, bodybuilders' invoices show an average rate of****.** in **** for commercial vehiclesthe latter category has unit prices of***.** per unit hese prices are below the European average of €****.** and €****.** respectively, according to the EU's nomenclature of activities.

Imports

In ****, prices per unit according to the types of products sold by body repairers are summarized in the table below:

Source: ****

(***) : Prices given per ton

Exports

Similarly, for products manufactured in France for export, we obtain :

Source: ****

(***) : Prices given per ton

5.1 Ventilation regulations for bodybuilders

General principles of workshop ventilation

Articles R. ****-* to R .****-** of the French Labor Code, which deal with"ventilation and sanitation of premises", govern these obligations. According to the Labor Code, car body shops are classified as "specific pollution".

Article R. ****-** sets the maximum dust levels allowed in the workshop at ** mg/m* of air for total dust and * mg/m* of air for respirable dust over an *-hour period.

However, more stringent limits are set for other specific pollutants, such as metal-containing dusts, gases and aerosols.

Paint booths

Decree **-** of January **, ****, and more specifically the implementing decree of May *, ****, stipulate how to comply with standards concerning application installations, spray booths for organic liquid paint and safety requirements.

VOC reduction

In order to limit solvent and VOC (***) emissions, European Directive **/**/EC of March **, **** has come into force, concerning the reduction of organic compound emissions. This applies to preparation and cleaning products, sealants, primers and fillers, top coats and special products.

Waste burning

According to the Règlement Sanitaire Départemental, bodywork waste must be managed in a specific way, as it is forbidden to burn it oneself.

6.1 Segmentation

• Lohr Industrie
• Jean Chéreau
• Lamberet
• Fruehauf (Wielton Group)
• Burstner France
• Qstomize (ex Renault Tech)
• Buisard
• Faun Environnement (Kirchhof Automotive)
• Rivard
• SD Services
• Magyar
• Daimler Trucks and Buses (Mercedes)
• Daimler Trucks and Buses (Mercedes)
• Gruau
• Armoric Holding - Essonne Sécurité
• Durisotti
• Aubineau carrosserie