Aftermarket hosts auto Green Zone
The annual Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo will have its first ever “Green Zone” to highlight environmentally friendly products, tools and services. The aftermarket expo “Green Zone” will feature products that service providers and retailers can sell to consumers to help make their vehicles more efficient and environmentally friendly.
It also will have aftermarket tools and diagnostic equipment used to repair new green cars, as well as suppliers that recycle waste or remanufacture parts, or that have environmentally friendly aftermarket parts.
“The automotive aftermarket is one of the most environmentally friendly industries in the world,” said Bill Glasgow Sr., show manager of the aftermarket expo. “The ‘Green Zone’ will provide an exceptional opportunity for suppliers to showcase their products to the aftermarket, and for retailers and service shops to advance their expertise in this field,” he added.
The aftermarket expo will be located in the Venetian Hotel Ballroom that adjoins the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1. In addition, many aftermarket parts exhibitors will promote their company’s green practices at the show, including environmentally friendly manufacturing processes and training programs to encourage employees to be environmentally responsible.
The “Green Zone” is the annual business-to-business trade show representing the global automotive aftermarket and features more than 2,000 exhibitors. The aftermarket expo is jointly sponsored by the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association.
The aftermarket auto parts association said this year’s exhibit area will feature products that manufacturers from every segment of the automotive industry, from tire dealers to service centers and automotive retailers, can offer to help make consumer vehicles “more efficient and environmentally friendly,” including tools and diagnostic equipment used to repair new green cars, and suppliers that recycle waste or remanufacture parts or that offer environmentally friendly aftermarket parts.
The aftermarket parts expo comes on the heels of recent report from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders that pins the increase of carbon dioxide emission from the rising weight of production cars. The association helps address this problem by introducing aftermarket parts designed to give the cars less load.
“Weight has been increasing by about 1.5% per year over the last 10 years,” confirms Greg Archer, director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership. The automotive weight-gain is counter-intuitive, given that cars these days are built using lighter and more rigid steel than in the past.
The result of all this added weight being piled into cars—which have been designed more for visual impact than for efficient streamlining—is increased fuel consumption and, thus, a rise in emissions of carbon dioxide.
That is significant, given that 10 percent of the energy consumed during a car’s life goes into its production, with a further 5 percent consumed during its dismantling and recycling. In addition, petrol and diesel engines have become ever more efficient.
As it happens, consumers are gradually turning towards green cars, and the industry is already making the most of any green credentials they identify. This, however, has led to accusations of “green-washing,” where some automotive firms make out that their solutions are better than they actually are. The aftermarket expo seeks to show in the Green Zone the capacity of today’s green auto parts.