Across Europe, the automotive aftermarket is changing fast. Sustainability has moved from a slogan to a strategy, and at the heart of that transformation lies one deceptively simple question: where will tomorrow’s remanufactured components come from?
A recent study by the Forum on Automotive Aftermarket Sustainability (FAAS) offers a detailed snapshot of how remanufactured parts are used and perceived across Europe. The report, Remanufacturing of Automotive Components in Europe – A Value Chain Perspective, surveyed more than a thousand wholesalers and workshops in 38 countries. Its findings are clear: remanufacturing is now mainstream, but it still faces serious challenges, and one of them is core availability.
A supply chain running short of cores
While 85% of wholesalers already sell remanufactured parts and 90% of workshops have access to them, the biggest obstacle to further growth is simply that there are not enough reusable cores available. Around a quarter of respondents stated that remanufactured alternatives don’t exist for many parts, and another third reported that stock runs out when it is most needed.
Behind those shortages sits a complex reverse-logistics puzzle. Wholesalers face financial risks when they accept used parts from workshops, only to see them rejected by the remanufacturer. Each brand or supplier has its own return conditions, deposit systems and rejection rules. The result? Unpredictable costs, wasted materials, and a supply chain that’s anything but circular.
The opportunity recyclers can unlock
This is where automotive recyclers come in. Europe’s dismantlers handle millions of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) every year. They are, in effect, sitting on a mountain of potential cores: engines, transmissions, electronics, sensors, and, increasingly, high-voltage batteries.
Yet most of these components never reach remanufacturers. Many are shredded for material recovery before their reuse potential is assessed. Integrating recyclers more directly into remanufacturing supply chains could change that dynamic entirely.
By identifying, testing and cataloguing viable cores at the dismantling stage, recyclers could provide a stable, traceable feedstock for Europe’s remanufacturers. This would ease the availability bottleneck identified in the FAAS study while creating new value streams for recycling businesses.
Digital traceability and EV components
The timing couldn’t be better. The upcoming EU End-of-Life Vehicles Regulation and the Sustainable Products Regulation will make reuse and remanufacturing explicit policy priorities. They will also introduce digital product passports, linking every component’s lifecycle data from production to reuse.
Recyclers who can supply parts with verified provenance and condition data will find themselves in a powerful position. As electric vehicles enter the dismantling stream, components such as traction batteries, power electronics and drive motors will require specialized handling and testing. These are high-value parts, ideally suited for remanufacture or repurposing, provided they are recovered and properly documented.
Collaboration over competition
The FAAS report highlights another truth: the decision to use a remanufactured part typically occurs at the workshop level, driven primarily by price. Workshops and wholesalers won’t invest in core collection systems unless they are simple, predictable, and profitable. That’s where recyclers can help.
By forming partnerships with distributors or remanufacturers, recyclers can offer core grading, logistics and credit-note systems that simplify returns and reduce the risk of rejection. Joint ventures could enable dismantlers to operate as official “core collection hubs,” ensuring that every viable component receives a second life instead of a one-way trip to the shredder.
A circular industry, not parallel silos
If the European aftermarket wants to become truly circular, it must connect its silos. The FAAS study reveals a strong willingness among workshops and wholesalers to use remanufactured parts, provided they are available, affordable, and easy to source.
Auto recyclers can deliver exactly that. With established dismantling infrastructure, storage capacity and environmental expertise, recyclers are uniquely placed to bridge the gap between end-of-life vehicles and remanufacturing plants. In doing so, they can shift from being the final step in disposal to becoming the first step in a new production cycle.
The road ahead
Remanufacturing is no longer a niche practice; it’s an industrial process recognized for its quality, warranty and sustainability credentials. But its growth depends on access to reliable cores, and that’s a challenge recyclers are perfectly positioned to solve.
By embracing data-driven dismantling, forming partnerships with remanufacturers, and aligning with Europe’s new circular-economy legislation, recyclers can move from the margins of the aftermarket to its very centre.
The next frontier for sustainable mobility in Europe isn’t just about what we build, it’s about what we rebuild. And auto recyclers hold the keys.
To read the report, click here.
Source www.faasforum.eu
