Factor Sales’ 2026 overview
Factor Sales guides its subscribing motor factors, free of charge, by showing where they stand against the rest of the market. To illustrate its market intelligence and what insights it is delivering to factor partners, Seb de Pedro offers an overview of the trade so far in 2026.
There’s a phrase you hear a lot in the motor factor trade: “I know my market.”
And for a long time, that was enough. If you’d been running a branch for 10 or 20 years, you knew what moved, what didn’t, who your regulars were, and roughly where you sat on price. That instinct was built on experience – and it worked.
But the market you knew is changing faster than instinct can keep up with. And the data is starting to show just how dangerous it is to rely on feel alone. The market is still falling – but not the way you think.
What does the Factor Sales’ data show?
Factor Sales data for January to May 2026 shows the UK aftermarket declined 1.87% in value and 3.54% in units versus the same period last year. On a two-year basis, value is down 4.77% and units have fallen 5.64%.
That headline might not sound dramatic, but here’s the part that should concern every factor owner: volume is falling faster than value. The market-wide average price per unit is up 1.74%. Simply, fewer parts are being sold, but the ones that are moving cost more.
That’s not growth; that’s inflation masking a shrinking market. And if you’re looking at your revenue and thinking things are holding up, you might be missing the fact that you’re actually selling fewer parts than last year.
The categories tell the story
Not all categories are equal, and the gap between winners and losers is getting wider.
Transmission is struggling: value down 7.95% year on year. Over two years, it’s fallen 14.22%. If you’re still stocking transmission at the same depth you were two years ago, you’re probably sitting on slow-moving inventory.
Clutch friction is another area that is falling: units down 17.59% and value down 10.05%. The average price has gone up 9.15%, which means the market is shrinking to a smaller pool of higher-priced jobs. If you’re a factor carrying clutch stock, we advise you need to know whether your branch is even seeing those jobs, or whether they’re going elsewhere.
Lubricants tell an interesting story: value is only down 0.52%, but units have dropped 8.56%. Price per unit is up 8.79%. Workshops are buying significantly less volume but paying more per unit – are they switching to ‘premium’ oils? Doing fewer services? Buying elsewhere?
Batteries are one of the few bright spots: value up 5.89%, units up 4.44%. This is genuine demand growth, not just price inflation. If you’re not capitalising on batteries right now, you’re leaving money on the table.
Ignition is quietly surging: value up 9.15%, price up 10.93%. Over two years, it’s climbed 10.52% and accelerating – how much of that growth is hitting your counter?
The four categories that have grown two years running:
- Ignition – up 10.52% and increasing
- Maintenance – up 11.66% and increasing
- Cooling and Heating – up 7.95%
- Engine Parts – up 5.01%
If you’re stocking shelf space and supplier conversations aren’t reflecting this, you’re over-investing in declining categories and under-investing in the ones that are growing. That’s margin walking out the door.
Price Squeeze
Average prices are rising across most categories – but they’re not rising evenly. Some categories are seeing double-digit price increases while others are falling.
Maintenance is up 11.87% on price, as is ignition (10.93%), clutch friction (9.15%) and lubricants (8.79%). But consumables are down 8.76%, accessories (6.14%), hydraulics (5.04%), transmission (4.73%) and engine parts (3.79%).
If you’re pricing based on last year’s margins, you could be overcharging in categories where the market has dropped and undercharging where prices have risen. The only way to know is to see where the market actually sits – not where you think it sits!
The big question
Do you know how your branch compares to the rest of the market right now? Do you know if you’re selling brake friction above or below the market average price? Do you know if your battery volumes are keeping pace with the 4.44% unit growth the rest of the market is seeing? Do you know if the categories you’re investing in are the ones that are actually growing?
At Factor Sales, we have been tracking real transaction data between motor factors and workshops for 15 years. We currently cover around 65% of the UK motor factor network, and we aggregate that data to give a representative view of the wider market.
The platform has just been rebuilt from the ground up. It provides the ability to benchmark your performance against the rest of the market across every category, see where you’re ahead, where you’re behind, and where the opportunities are that you might be missing.
Your gut feel got you this far, but will it be enough to get you through what’s coming next?
