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An Abundance of Opportunity
How Dealerships Can Rev Up Parts Sales
New research reveals a disconnect between where dealerships expect parts growth and where they may be overlooking revenue. Automotive News surveyed dealership leaders and parts professionals about online parts sales, growth opportunities, and challenges.
Research conducted by Automotive News | Sponsored by RevolutionParts
Explore the report.
Act I
The Opportunity
- 01The surprise
- 02Fixed ops is growing
- 03Where dealers look
- 04Your next customer
Ch 01
52%
Of respondents see the service lane as their biggest parts growth opportunity
29%
Of vehicle service visits went to dealerships in 2025
Dealers are looking to the service lane for growth. But most vehicle service visits happen somewhere else.
Ch 02
Fixed operations is growing. But dealers aren't capturing every customer.
+41%
Service and parts sales growth, 2018–2025
$164.6B
U.S. dealership service and parts sales, 2025
57%
Share of that revenue attributable to parts
Fixed operations has become increasingly important to dealership revenue. But growth inside the dealership doesn't tell the whole story.
Customers are keeping vehicles longer, making repairs and upgrades, and shopping for parts outside the traditional dealership relationship.
Ch 03
Where do dealers see their next parts revenue opportunity?
Just 23% see online parts sales as their biggest growth opportunity.
The service lane remains the clear favorite. But service revenue depends heavily on vehicles entering the shop.
Selling parts online offers another way to generate orders, including from customers who may never visit the dealership.
Ch 04
Your next parts customer may never set foot in your dealership.
Traditional parts sales
- Service lane
- Local wholesale accounts
- Walk-in customers
- Vehicle-sale accessories and add-ons
National parts sales
- Buyers across the country
- Online search and marketplaces
- Orders placed evenings and weekends
- Demand beyond the local market
Vehicle owners are searching online for replacement parts, repairs, and upgrades. Some are DIY customers. Others are buying through independent repair shops or online marketplaces.
That demand doesn't stop at a dealership's geographic boundaries or business hours.
Dealer story · Gateway GMC
One wrong delivery. One big opportunity.
When Gateway GMC's Craig Shield received another dealership's parts shipment by mistake, he noticed something surprising: Their order was 4× larger, with Amazon and eBay sales listed.
He showed his dealer principal. They saw an opportunity.
GATEWAY GMC
~$200K/month
In online parts sales six years later
That's one-third to one-half of Gateway's total parts sales.
“If you have online sales set up, you can sell parts all day long.”– CRAIG SHIELD, GATEWAY GMC
Act II
Expectations vs. Potential
- 05What dealers think is possible
- 06Paragon Honda
- 07Wholesale economics
Ch 05
How many online parts orders do dealers think is possible?
Under 1010–5050–200200–500500+Not sure
The most common expectation is just 10–50 online orders per month. In reality, most dealers actively selling online receive more orders per month.
But even a modest increase in daily orders could create a meaningful new revenue stream. The better question may be what happens when a dealership starts treating eCommerce as an active revenue channel instead of a passive website.
What Could Just a Few More Orders Mean for Your Parts Department?
$22,500Monthly revenue
ADJUSTABLE ASSUMPTIONS · NOT SURVEY FINDINGS
Ch 06
Paragon Honda already had an online parts business. Then it got serious.
Paragon Honda had an eCommerce platform but wasn't actively growing sales. By investing in search visibility, product photography, and online marketplaces, the dealership dramatically increased revenue without adding staff or warehouse space.
BeforeAfter
Before35K - 40KPer month
After$500KPer month
One year of focused effort
“The best part is that we’re taking back some of the business that independents were taking from us… Dealerships can’t afford to leave 80% of the business out there for them to take.”— BRIAN BENSTOCK, GM AND VP OF PARAGON AUTO GROUP
Ch 07
Dealers understand wholesale economics. Why not apply the same thinking to eCommerce?
What dealers expect: When surveyed, dealers predicted online part sales carry slightly lower margins online than wholesale.
What dealers value: Those same dealers ranked total gross profit above profit margin when evaluating a revenue channel.
The takeaway: Just like wholesale, eCommerce is a volume game. What matters is how much additional gross profit those sales generate.
What dealers expect
Much higherSlightly higherAbout the sameSlightly lowerMuch lowerNot sure
What Matters Most When Evaluating a Parts Revenue Channel?
Margin %
Total gross profit $
Speed to break-even
Investment / cost
Operational simplicity
Not sure
Act III
Fears vs. Reality
- 08What's holding dealers back
- 09Fear vs. experience
- 10What it takes
- 11Parkway Chevrolet
Ch 08
What's really holding dealers back?
Selling parts online introduces new responsibilities. Customers expect accurate orders, competitive pricing, reliable shipping, and responsive service.
For parts departments already managing busy counters, wholesale accounts, and service demand, those concerns are understandable.
Tap a concern to see what dealers who aren't selling parts online worry about most.
But the survey asked another important question: What has actually been difficult for dealerships managing online parts sales?
What happens when dealers actually start selling online?
Ch 09
What dealers fear vs. what dealers actually experience
Selling parts online comes with challenges. But are the things keeping dealers from getting started really the biggest problems?
Automotive News asked two groups of dealership professionals: those not selling parts online what concerned them most, and those already selling online what challenges they actually faced.
37%
of non-sellers cited selling profitably as a concern.
94%
of online sellers did not identify maintaining profitability as a challenge.
The takeaway: The challenges dealers expect aren't always the ones online sellers report. Profitability shows the biggest gap
Ch 10
What does it take to build a successful online parts business?
A webstore alone doesn't create a successful eCommerce business.
The dealers in the report focused on getting found online, setting competitive prices, filling orders, and taking care of customers. They had the right tools and they put in the work.
01
Getting found online
02
Setting competitive prices
03
Filling orders
04
Taking care of customers
Ch 11
Parkway Chevrolet turned a neglected channel into a major revenue source.
Parkway Chevrolet was already selling parts online, but it wasn't a major focus. Robert St. Romain Jr. changed that by improving the tools, processes, and day-to-day operations.
With a modest marketing budget and a team of four, Parkway grew online parts sales from $50K to more than $450K per month.
BEFORE$50K
AFTER$450K+
ORDER UPDATEShipped · tracking sent
Robert St. Romain Jr.
REPEAT CUSTOMER3rd order this year
~50%Of Parkway's online parts business comes from repeat customers
Parkway focuses on packing orders right, keeping customers updated, and providing great service. That's how they turn first-time buyers into repeat customers.
“From day one, I said we need to treat every customer as if they are buying a $1 million part. We have to package each part neatly and treat them like gold.”ROBERT ST. ROMAIN JR. · PARKWAY CHEVROLET
Act IV
The Bigger Picture
- 12Four dealers
- 13Demand never closes
- 14The biggest barrier
- 15Get the report
Ch 12
Success doesn't look the same at every dealership
Different Dealerships. Different Starting Points. One Growing Online Opportunity.
Murfreesboro Nissan$50K+Monthly online sales. Run by one person.
Gateway GMC~$200KMonthly online sales. A misdelivered order revealed a missed channel.
Parkway Chevrolet$450K+Monthly online sales. Built a massive customer base of repeat online buyers.
Paragon Honda$500KMonthly online sales. $0 - 500K in a year.
“Even smaller, single-point dealerships can find opportunity online.”— IAN BELLAMY, PARTS MANAGER, MURFREESBORO NISSAN
Ch 13
Your parts department closes. Online demand doesn't.
People search for parts after work, on weekends, and whenever a repair or upgrade becomes a priority. A dealership's physical hours don't have to determine when customers can place orders.
6:00 PMParts counter closes
“It’s great; if you have online sales set up, you can sell parts all day long. If the dealership is closed at 2 a.m. or if there’s bad weather in Dallas, I’m still selling.”— CRAIG SHIELD, PARTS MANAGER, GATEWAY GMC
Ch 14
The biggest barrier may be underestimating the opportunity.
The Automotive News research tells a pretty clear story: dealers may be overlooking a valuable source of parts revenue because of assumptions about what it takes to succeed.
What the Data Tells Us
52% see the service lane as their biggest growth opportunity, even though dealerships capture just 29% of vehicle service visits.
Only 23% see online parts sales as their biggest growth opportunity, despite the ability to sell to customers nationwide.
37% worry about margin pressure, but just 6% of online sellers cite maintaining profitability as a major challenge.
And real dealerships are showing what's possible, from $50K+ per month at Murfreesboro Nissan to more than $450K at Parkway Chevrolet and $500K at Paragon Honda.
“I think it’s free money on the table for those of us willing to put in the effort to get started and do it right. There is an abundance of opportunity out there.”— ROBERT ST. ROMAIN JR., PARKWAY CHEVROLET
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