Repairs to electric vehicle batteries and fleet services are opening up growth opportunities for Nordic workshops
The independent aftermarket in the Nordic countries stands out in Europe for its concentrated spare parts trade, strong workshop networks, and an increasingly electrified vehicle fleet. Speaking at The Focus on Nordic IAM panel organized by Automediat.com at Automechanika Frankfurt, Antti Wolk, Wolk & Nikolic After Sales Intelligence, highlighted electric vehicle battery repairs, maintenance contracts for corporate fleets, and complex repairs for vehicles past their warranty period as growth opportunities.
Market expert Antti Wolk, Wolk & Nikolic After Sales Intelligence, examined the aftermarket in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark at the “The Focus on Nordic IAM” event organized by Automediat.com on September 9, 2026. His presentation combined figures illustrating the market structure with assessments of the types of services that changes in the vehicle fleet will require from independent workshops and auto parts suppliers.
In Wolk’s 2025 comparison, the combined revenue of independent auto parts distribution and retail companies in the four countries was 8.98 billion euros. This represented 7.3 percent of the total revenue of companies in the 45 European countries included in the comparison and was comparable in scale to Poland. This figure reflects the revenue of distribution and retail companies and cannot be used to represent the value of the entire maintenance and repair market.
The five largest companies accounted for 43.2 percent of Nordic revenue. In the European comparison, the five largest companies accounted for 16.4 percent. The top five companies in the Nordic region were Biltema, MEKO, Broman Group, KG Knutsson, and T. Hansen Gruppen. For spare parts suppliers, this comparison highlights the importance of large distribution companies in gaining market access.
In Nordic workshops, a corresponding distinctive feature is membership in networks. According to Wolk’s 2024 data on passenger car workshops, 55.6 percent of independent workshops in the Nordic countries belonged to a chain, a franchise network, or some other cooperative arrangement. In a comparison of 34 other European countries, the share was 28.4 percent. Independent workshops accounted for over 80 percent of all workshops in both regions.
Reporter: Valentina Ahlavuo, Automediat.com
