The Aftermarket is the group of shops that design and sell automotive parts to enhance the style or performance of cars. Aftermarket parts replace the factory model or stock parts in order to boost performance.

When cars are designed, their criteria is based mostly on what would sell to widest range of audience at a reasonable price. The engineers factor in reliability, price, fuel economy in their decision making process. The aftermarket is a way for people to buy parts in order to customize their cars. They usually feature aggressive styling and performance enhancements that may not be important to the average car buyer. Some parts come as kits, the customer may have to install the parts themselves.

Nowadays almost any model car has an aftermarket.

  • honda

Typical aftermarket parts include:
  • exhaust systems
  • air intake systems
  • computer systems

The current trend of lighter, compact cars has fueled this trend. Before in order to get a faster car people would just get the biggest engine possible. Nowadays, because the cars are lighter, people can get a faster car by swapping a few parts.