New 10-point industry roadmap calls for urgent action on repair viability, EV capability, alternative parts and technician skills.

Zug, Switzerland. LKQ Europe has published a new industry roadmap calling for coordinated action across Europe’s automotive aftermarket to ensure new, reused, recycling and remanufactured parts can work together to keep vehicle repair reliable, sustainable and commercially viable. 

The recommendations form part of a new whitepaper, Safeguarding the future of vehicle repair: How Europe can keep mobility cost-effective and sustainable, bringing together expertise from across LKQ Europe’s aftermarket, remanufacturing, salvage, EV repair and public affairs operations.

The roadmap sets out ten priorities LKQ Europe believes are critical to safeguarding the future of accessible and sustainable vehicle repair across Europe:

1. Treat cost effectiveness and sustainability as inseparable goals
2. Scale the adoption of reused, recycled and remanufactured parts
3. Professionalize alternative parts supply chains across Europe
4. Improve quality, warranty and traceability standards
5. Expand access to vehicle and parts data
6. Accelerate EV and battery repair capability
7. Invest in technician training and workforce readiness
8. Encourage greater collaboration across the repair ecosystem
9. Support repair-first decision making
10. Build greater trust and transparency across the aftermarket

Andy Hamilton, President & Executive Managing Director at LKQ Europe, said: “European vehicle repair is approaching a critical turning point. Workshops and bodyshops are under pressure from rising costs, increasing vehicle complexity, electrification and growing sustainability expectations – all while motorists and insurers continue to demand affordable repair outcomes.

“The central argument in this paper is that economic sustainability and environmental sustainability can work together. Done properly, sustainable repair should help reduce costs, extend vehicle life and improve repair viability across the aftermarket.

“But no single business, insurer, repairer or policymaker can solve these challenges alone. The future of repair will depend on the entire ecosystem working together – alongside commercially workable regulation and better access to repair and vehicle data – to build a more connected, circular and economically sustainable repair model.”

A major focus of the report is expanding the use of reused, recycled OE and remanufactured parts as a mainstream repair solution across Europe, alongside new parts, giving customers and repairers greater access to the most appropriate solution for every repair. This builds on the capabilities of LKQ Synetiq’s salvage and recycling operations and LKQ Europe’s wider remanufacturing and salvage network.

The whitepaper highlights how the “right part for the right repair” approach can help control rising repair costs while reducing environmental impact. Industry estimates cited in the report show remanufactured and reused parts can cost between 30% and 60% less than equivalent new OEM components, while recycled OE parts can deliver savings of up to 60% in some repair scenarios.

LKQ Europe argues that wider adoption will depend on improving availability, traceability, warranty consistency and integration into insurer and repair workflows – helping alternative parts become a routine specification choice rather than a secondary option.

The paper also highlights the growing importance of EV battery repair capability and specialist high-voltage expertise, including through LKQ Electriq’s specialist EV battery repair operations, as electrified vehicles become a larger proportion of Europe’s vehicle parc.

It warns that without greater investment in technician training, specialist repair infrastructure and access to vehicle data, the aftermarket risks developing repair bottlenecks as vehicle technology becomes increasingly complex.

To help address this, LKQ Europe has committed to upskilling 24,000 technicians across 13 European countries by 2028 through EV diagnostics, high-voltage safety and modern repair training programs under the European Commission’s Mobility Transition Pathway initiative.

As well as LKQ Synetiq and LKQ Electriq, the paper includes contributions and insight from LKQ Atracco, one of the Nordic region’s leading automotive recyclers, alongside LKQ Europe’s remanufacturing leadership team and EU public affairs function.