Choose an Eure!Car training to keep pace with ... - Ad-europe.com

Responsible editor: Autodistribution International, Kortenberg, Belgium
A u t o d i s t r i b u t i o n I n t e r n a t i o n a l
K e e p i n g E u r o p e M o b i l e
Dear Business
Partners and
Colleagues,
we are usually
sad when good
things come to
an end. But,
in contrast, we
are always glad
when difficult
times are over.
It is with similar
feelings that
most of us await the end of 2009 – we are simply
pleased that the year will soon be over. The
last twelve months have cost us a great deal of
energy and left us feeling even more humble
in terms of how little influence we have on
complex economic conditions. We now know
that some of the negative forecasts produced
before the year began were exceeded and
the lessons we have learnt this year will help
us withstand major challenges in the future.
Much of what was built on feet of clay and
pure fantasy no longer exists. A good deal of
what was created during periods of euphoric
growth has been put on the back burner in
favour of systematic consolidation. Moreover,
the fact that we are glad to see 2009 coming
to a close is due to our great confidence in the
coming year, based on the belief that we have
adjusted our corporate structure to the market
reality and put things back on the right track.
At least current forecasts for European market
development provide reassurance that the
economic situation will recover slightly, even
if we will not achieve the 2008 figures by a
long way. Worldwide car sales should increase
by 2.3 million to 54.7 million in 2010, despite
further downturns in Western Europe, so that
our industrial partners who supply us with
spare parts will see a gradual relaxation in the
demands placed on their human and physical
resources. But, together with the stabilisation
of financial markets and boosting of consumer
spending, we are not able to influence these
economic framework conditions directly. Just
as we select appropriate clothing according
to the weather, these developments can
only serve to explain why situations occur so
that we can ultimately respond to them. But,
in order to be in a position to influence our
shared development using our own resources,
it is now more important than ever to focus our
strategy on the parameters that we are able to
influence. We have already achieved this goal
to a major extent within our own companies.
But we still have a long way to go in terms
of how our processes interact. This means
we are all jointly responsible for rectifying
past failures and adjusting the core of our
business to the European dimension and
associated market requirements. This includes
the international sales policy of our industrial
partners, which must be better adapted to
the needs of international trading groups.
But it also includes the close internal and
external interaction that is clearly required to
exploit the still massive potentials in the value
creation chain. Being aware of opportunities
and our new readiness to exploit them enables
us to look to the future together with great
confidence. This has enabled the ADI family
to see what is needed right now and stake
its claim as European leader by adopting a
growth-oriented strategy. The various articles
in the current newsletter reaffirm the spirit of
our ADI family, as well as the close relationship
with our industrial partners, for which I would
like to thank you sincerely.
The festive period will give us chance to relax
and reflect. Together with the people that are
closest to us, we can gather the strength that
we need to achieve our objectives. I sincerely
wish you, dear business partners, colleagues
and friends, a happy Christmas and all the
very best for the New Year.
Yours,
Thomas Vollmar
President of ADI
Edition
Choose an Eure!Car training
to keep pace with
innovation
Register your training at
www.eurecar.org
12/2009
Eure!Car: AD-certified training in
vehicle technology.
p 2-3
AD Belgium becomes AD Beldis
p 4
CARAT “Leistungsmesse” exceeds all
expectations
p 4-5
AD Auto Total: October 9th 2009
- the true beginning of a beautiful
partnership.
p 6
AD: the driving force behind many
garage networks
p 6-7
New wholesalers for AD Russia
p 8-9
“Entrepreneur of the year” -award for
AD-member in Finland.
p 9
ADN launches CarProf.nl for online
car maintenance 24/7!
p 10
Prominent ADI Forum Members on
2009
p 11-15

2
Eure!Car: AD-certified trai
Today’s (and tomorrow’s)
garage faces a permanent
challenge: keeping pace
with increasing technology
for an ever-growing and
more varied range of cars!
It has long been clear to the
ADI partners that professional
mechanics need not only quality
parts, equipment and excellent
delivery service, but also
information and training. So
they provide up-to-date technical
information, hotline service for
technical problems and - above all
- training.
The latter is of the utmost
importance, and in future may
be decisive for the survival of a
repairer!
www.ad-europe.com
Particularly to promote technical
training courses within the AD
organisation, AD International,
in liaison with its partners in the
various countries and with their
cooperation, has set up Eure!Car.
What is Eure!Car?
Eure!Car is a European platform
aimed at professional garages.
It offers a comprehensive and
clear overview of high-quality
training courses for car mechanics,
organised by the AD partners
in 26 European countries and
coordinated by Autodistribution
International.
At the heart of Eure!Car is a
dynamic web platform, on which
a detailed list of training courses
offered by ADI partners and their
wholesalers is constantly available.
Via this platform (www.eurecar.
org) the professional mechanic can
pick the right course from those
available, and then contact the
organisers via the web or by e-mail
and if desired, register directly.
How does a course get onto
the Eure!Car platform?
Only courses with the Eure!Car
label are included in the database.
A training course gets the Eure!Car
label when it:
• is provided by a partner of the
AD Group;
• relates to “advanced technology
in cars”;
• is given by recognised, specialist
instructors, usually in collaboration
with the ADI contract suppliers
who support Eure!car;

ning in vehicle technology.
• is organised by the AD
wholesaler.
Repairers who log onto the
Eure!Car website after completing
a Eure!Car certified course can
have their Eure!Car certificate sent
to their home address.
With Eure!Car, AD is creating
an additional opportunity for the
wholesaler to turn the spotlight
on the training courses they offer,
and strengthen their ties with
professional repairers.
For further information about
Eure!Car, go to www.eurecar.org or
contact the national headquarters
of the ADI partners.
Choose an Eure!Car training
to keep pace with
innovation
Register your training at
www.eurecar.org
www.ad-europe.com 3

4
AD Belgium becomes AD Beldis
On 13 June
2009, the
owners of
AD Belgium
decided to
p r o c e e d
with the
winding-up
of the company.
One month later, AD wholesalers, with
the support of AD Nederland and AD
International already decided to setup
the actual organisation AD Beldis.
AD Beldis shall organise and expand
the distribution and promotion of the
AD concept in the Belux market. AD
Beldis opts for a structure with independent
wholesalers who participate
in the policy. This business model is
comparable to that of AD Nederland,
Carat, AD Parts,....
At present, AD Beldis has five outlets
in Belgium and one in Luxembourg. In
the next few years, AD Beldis aims to
develop into a network with a national
coverage, so that the whole range of
www.ad-europe.com
AD products and concepts can quickly
be supplied to garage customers in
Belgium and Luxembourg.
The AD Beldis team is based in
Kortenberg, in the premises of AD
International, and is receiving operational
support from AD Nederland, including
night deliveries from the central
warehouse in Oosterhout, product
management, marketing activities
and e-business.
Contact details:
AD BELDIS
Leuvensesteenweg 272A
3070 Kortenberg
Tel. +32/2.254.70.30
Fax: +32/2.759.90.26
Email: info@adbeldis.be
Wim Goossens
General Manager
Mobile +32/474.88.34.76
Email: wim.goossens@adbeldis.be
Koen Goossens
Concept Coordinator
Mobile +32/474.91.54.26
Email: koen.goossens@adbeldis.be
CARAT “Leistungsmesse” exceeds all expectations
From 2 to 4 October, CAR-
AT/AD Deutschland organised
the 9th edition of its
“Leistungsmesse” (“Performance
trade fair”) trade
fair in Kassel (in central
Germany).
On invitation by their CARAT
wholesaler, garages from all over
Germany visited the trade fair and
took advantage of the special terms
offered by the 200 suppliers exhibiting
there.
From l. to r.: Koen Goossens,
Wim Goossens
During the trade fair, a number of
new projects were launched, including:
• XLService for hauliers: a marketing
package for repairers
that want to appeal to new target
groups:
• CARCOLOR: concept for body
repair shops with support for
communication aimed at the final
consumer and fleets.
• the CARAT training academy
(www.carat-trainingsakademie.
de), the new training platform
for repairers.

The fact that the concept really
works was proven by the 21 000
visitors and the sales generated
(more than in the previous edition
in 2007).
The festive high point, as always,
was the ‘party’ on Saturday evening,
attended by about 4000 people.
You will find more information on
www.leistungsmesse.de (only in
German).
ad CARGO, Castrop-Rauxel (Dortmund)
New milestone in the development
of CARAT/AD
Deutschland
Under the name “ad CARGO” CAR-
AT inaugurated its new logistics
centre in Castrop-Rauxel (Dortmund)
on 18 June this year.
CARAT CEO Thomas Vollmar gave
a speech in the presence of the
Mayor of Castrop Rauxel, to almost
600 guests, including CARAT
wholesalers, suppliers and CARAT
staff.
The two former warehouses have
been brought together in one impressive
ad CARGO logistics
centre, with an area of 25 000 m²
(which can be expanded to 37 000
m²).
Since 1 July 2009, ad CARGO
has been supplying CARAT/AD
Deutschland wholesalers all over
Germany, usually in less than a day.
www.ad-europe.com 5

6
October 9th 2009 - the true beginning of a beautiful
partnership.
O c t o b e r
9th was a
great day
for AD
Auto TotalRomania
and AD
G a r a g e s
t h r o u g h -
out the country. It was the
first meeting altogether, the
first exchange of ideas, solutions
and perspectives in
real time, the first steps together,
towards a promising
future.
The main discussions of the day
www.ad-europe.com
revolved around the current market
situation: where everybody stands,
where AD Auto Total stands, what
we should do in order to overcome
difficulties.
The speakers of the day where Mr.
Mihai Staicu on behalf of AD Auto
Total, Mr. Manuel Van Royen, on
behalf of AD International, Mr. Gabriel
Zane on behalf of the AD Garage
network in Romania, Mr. Cedric
Binoit and Mr. Cristian Muntean
on behalf of Michelin, Mr. Laurentiu
Niculae on behalf of the IT Department,
Mr. Cristian Ghioculet on the
insurance companies issues, and
the very special guest Vlad Hagiu -
the former trainer of Romania’s Polo
Team, speaking about the incredible
results they achieved in poor, objective
conditions.
AD: the driving force behind many garage networks
When AD brought together a
number of independent garages
in the early ‘80s under
a single banner, which was
“Centre AD Pro” (in France), it
laid the foundations for what is
currently the largest network
of independent repairers: AD
Garage.
An AD Garage doesn’t only get the excellent
service of the AD wholesaler in its
region, but also support in management,
sales, training, marketing and communication.
Communication is provided to
it by a national marketing team, and is
supplemented by ‘marketing tools’ of AD
International: the European AD Garage
guide, the multilingual AD garage website
(11 languages) with a ‘locator’ (‘find
4600 AD Garages in 16 countries
Mihai Staicu
the nearest AD Garages in your region’)
and the International Warranty on Parts
and Labour.
The growing demand for a ‘garage concept’
in combination with the already optimal
coverage of AD Garage in certain
regions, was the reason behind a number
of ADI partners starting up an additional
network that enables the coverage
to be improved still further, and more
customers to be offered specific support.
So the beginning of 2008 saw the launch
in Poland of AutoPrimo, which had been
developed successfully over many years
in France (AutoPrimo now has 1400 repairers
in France, 255 in Poland and already
a few in Italy!).

For the same reason, AD Parts (E)
launched Elite (170) and Premium (150)
as a second and third network for professional
garages.
At the end of 2008, BIRNER/AD Austria
launched “AutoMobil Meisterwerkstatt”,
based on the example of the network
of the same name run successfully by
CARAT in Germany for many years (now
400 x in Germany and 100 x in Austria).
In order to respond more effectively to
the needs of professional garages, the
AD Garage network has diversified.
This led to the creation of AD Carrosserie
with specific services for collision repairers
and Garage AD Expert (F), with
the emphasis on training and technical
know-how.
AD Garage, AD Carrosserie, Garage AD
Expert, AutoPrimo, Elite, Premium and
AutoMobil Meisterwerkstatt all have one
thing in common: they formed a partnership
with the local AD wholesaler, and in
exchange receive the necessary support
and - which is important in times of
recession - an element of security!
www.ad-europe.com 7

8
New wholesalers in Russia
13.10.2009 -
During the
EquipAuto
e x h i b i t i o n
in Paris, the
Board of Directors
of
A U T O D I S -
TRIBUTION RUSSIA (ADR)
and the St Petersburg based
Company MIKADO have
signed the membership’s
contract of MIKADO to the
AD RUSSIA Group. MIKADO
is joining ADR as a Partner
with the aim of developing
AD concepts in its sales
geographical territory.
With full benefit for the company,
MIKADO will be able to use both
the European experience of ADI and
the cumulative know-how of the AD
RUSSIA Group.
AUTODISTRIBUTION RUSSIA
(AD RUSSIA) Group incorporates
now two independent companies
in Moscow (Moskvorechie and
Smartec), two in St. Petersburg
(Koleso Fortuni and Mikado) and one
in Chelyabinsk (Avanta). Additional
branches and warehouses in 12
regions of Russia make the presence
of ADR in the Russian Automotive
aftermarket of spare more effective.
Since its creation in 2003, AD
RUSSIA has been organizing with
modern and adequate logistics,
the distribution of the major
brands of the leading automotive
components manufacturers to its
professional customers. The AD
RUSSIA network is providing to
its professional customers a full
package of services, concepts and
assistance to help them strengthen
their position and guarantee their
future in the independent Russian
repair market.
MIKADO was founded in 1994, since
then it has been the company’s
priority area to offer high quality
spare parts and components for
cars of the world’s most famous
manufacturers.
www.ad-europe.com
MIKADO delivers spare parts to the
territories of the North-West federal
district of the Russian Federation
including Saint-Petersburg and
the Leningrad region, Karelia, the
Pskov region, the Murmansk region,
the Novgorod region, the Nizhny
Novgorod region, and other Russian
regions as well.
Over the period of its existence the
company has established strong
relations with the foreign automotive
parts manufacturers. Direct supplies
guarantee high quality products for
the company’s clients, along with a
sensible price level.
At the signing of the partnership
agreement Valery Nepopalov, one of
MIKADO’s co-owners, mentioned:
“The concurrence of priorities and
ideology of MIKADO and AD RUSSIA
Group has led us to signing this
membership’s contract. Expressing
appreciation for welcoming our
company, we are confident about
successful implementation of joint
programs, and knowing our Partners
very well we have no doubt that this
cooperation will be friendly and
fruitful”.
Gennady Korolkov, ADR President,
said: “One of the priority areas of
the AD Russia Group development
is the expansion of its sales network
in all regions of Russia. Therefore

AD Moskvorechie, Moscow
this Partnership corresponds to AD
RUSSIA’s constant growth program
“Entrepreneur of the year” -award for ADmember
in Finland.
from l. to r. : Väinö H. Broman,
Eero Broman, Harri Broman
and will strengthen the current
leading position of the Group in
In the “Entrepreneur
of the Year”
competition,
AD Broman
Group,
the AD
wholesaler
in Joensuu was chosen as
“Growth Company of the
Year”.
The company’s impressive growth is
no accident: even in tough times, the
company decided to pursue its chosen
course in retail and wholesale, and
it went on to implement that strategy
successfully through careful planning
and hard work.
Motivation of the workforce is one of
the management’s main ambitions.
the Russian aftermarket, especially
in the territory of the North-West
district”.
For more information please
contact:
AD Russia: Mr. Gennady
KOROLKOV, President
Tel. : +7 (495) 542-80-97
Fax: +7 (495) 542-80-97
E-mail :
Korolkov@adrussia.ru
www.ad-europe.com 9

10
ADN launches CarProf.nl an online platform
for car maintenance, 24/7!
On 5
October, AD
N e d e r l a n d
l a u n c h e d
w w w .
carprof.nl a
new online
p l a t f o r m
that motorists can use
for maintenance and
their compulsory vehicle
technical inspection test.
How does CarProf.nl work?
After identifying the car by entering
its number plate, the motorist can
request a price quote for servicing,
vehicle testing or a summer or winter
check. After picking the garage of his
choice amongst the list of repairers
that have signed up for CarProf.nl,
he immediately receives a detailed
price quote for his/her own car
based on the distance driven in km.
www.ad-europe.com
What’s in it for repairers?
A repairer can register for CarProf.nl
via the AD Wholesaler, as long as he
meets the acceptance conditions,
i.e.: that it is an officially-approved
vehicle testing station , and holds
the BOVAG (*) quality label with
the standard BOVAG warranty. In
addition, the repairer concerned
must sign a ‘participation contract’
with the regional AD Wholesaler and
AD Nederland B.V., which contains
a loyalty clause about the purchase
of parts sold because of the use of
the CarProf.nl platform.
Paul Greijn, Deputy Manager of
ADN explains: “How often do people
forget to make an appointment with
their garage? Via CarProf.nl, they
can do it 24/7, even when the garage
is closed. You can use CarProf.nl for
servicing, your compulsory vehicle
test, winter or summer check, but
the range of services on offer will be
expanded in the course of 2010.”
Visit www.carprof.nl. for further
information (only in Dutch).
(* Bovag is the national association
of repairers in the Netherlands).

Contribution by Giorgio Brusco,
President Gates Power
Transmission Europe
In December 2008, ADI gave me the opportunity
to share my views through the
ADI-Newsletter and now one year later
the chance has been given again to comment
on our industry. Looking back we
can indeed conclude that the automotive
industry has been seriously impacted by
the global economic situation and that
many manufacturers of car parts have
been challenged to downsize production
capacity. Despite the fact that downsizing
was mostly driven by the lower requirements
of the car manufacturers, the af-
Prominent ADI Forum Members on
2009
Read prominent Forum members’, from both industry and distribution,
analysis of 2009 and expectations for 2010.
React on forum@mail.adi.be
termarket production process is automatically
impacted as well. Operating in
such conditions puts a heavy load on the
people in all functional areas of an organization,
and requires more flexibility from
the organization than ever before.
The pressure on the aftermarket business
has increased under initiatives like
scrap incentives and an average annual
mileage driven which has come down.
The biggest impact is coming from the
traditional growth markets whereas the
mature markets have shown stability.
The emerging economies continue to be
under pressure with lower demand, historical
high inventory levels and unstable
currency exchange rates. In these markets
the need for close partnership and
efficiency increases has become more
obvious and we are positioned to support
any shift in how we do business. The
opening of two new distribution centers
in Moscow and Istanbul during a strong
recession, reflect our continued investments
in the product and logistic offer
combined with technological competence
to secure a solid future position for Gates
Giorgio Brusco, President Gates
Power Transmission Europe
as a leading aftermarket industry supplier.
Together we will do what it takes to
maintain a healthy environment in our industry
and to secure our competitiveness
against OES organizations.
Giorgio Brusco, President
Gates Power Transmission
Europe
www.ad-europe.com 11

12
2009 has been a memorable
year for all market
participants, including
manufacturers and trade,
and was dominated by major
uncertainty in all markets.
Sales hit an all-time low in the
first quarter of 2009, forcing
MANN+HUMMEL to focus its
crisis management on cash-flow
influencing factors, which included
assessing and reducing stock levels,
in order to adjust to the reduced
volume of business.
Significant and previously unknown
seasonal order fluctuations
inevitably led to a tangible fall
in availability, reaching a peak
in April-June. Sales recovered
significantly during the summer
months. MANN+HUMMEL adapted
rapidly and without compromise to
from l. to r.: Mr. Krenedics, Petra Engels
www.ad-europe.com
the improved order situation. The
company responded to individual
customers’ needs, in order to cope
as effectively as possible with supply
shortages. Delivery capacity became
increasingly stable during the 3rd
quarter and has now returned to its
normal level. No further downturn
is expected as business begins to
recover. We now anticipate slight
growth in 2010, though there is still
a degree of uncertainty, particularly
in terms of growth in East European
markets.
We need to work together to learn
from the events of 2009. Close
partnerships are vital if we are to
protect our business, especially in
difficult times. In order to make our
business volume more predictable
during uncertain times, and therefore
more straightforward and efficient,
we need to adopt an “open book”
policy. Only when the trade gives
us clear indications of stock levels
and sales, will we be able to balance
out fluctuations and trend reversals,
while preventing future supply
shortages. Close communication
between partners plays an important
part in this process.
We anticipate even greater
Manfred Wolf, MD Filter Elements
and Systems for Industry and
Trade, MANN+HUMMEL GMBH
stability over the next few years
and are aiming for further growth
with AD partners. We have made
encouraging progress with our
service portfolio in the various
markets, which serves to reinforce
the already close partnership
between ADI and MANN+HUMMEL.
We are especially pleased when
our sales performance is given
recognition. The 2009 CARAT
Marketing Price is an important
accolade for us, for which we would
like to express our special thanks.
We will also provide the AD network
in Europe with individual, active
and professional support during the
coming year. It goes without saying
that we will apply once again for the
ADI “Supplier of the Year” award.
I would like to thank you on behalf
of the entire MANN-FILTER team for
your support.
Manfred Wolf,
MD Filter Elements and
Systems for Industry and
Trade,
MANN+HUMMEL GMBH

The current
crisis is
far more
serious and
will last
longer in
Spain than
in other
Euro zone countries.
Our country’s economy was
traditionally based on agriculture
and textiles. It later focused on the
automobile and associated industries,
together with tourism, the construction
industry and its sub-sectors.
The textile sector has long since
relocated to other countries, where
labour is less expensive. Agriculture is
now in a state of ruin and, in my view, it
will not be long before the automobile
industry follows the example of the
textile sector. The construction sector
has been stagnant for many years.
You only have to look at figures from
various sources, which confirm that
Spain has between 1,800,000 and
2,000,000 homes available for sale
or rent. The banks have become
property companies, due to using
a major proportion of their funds to
support companies, which construct
buildings that no one can afford to
buy. Unemployment affects 18% of
the working population and this figure
is expected to reach 20% by the end
of the year. The government has a
budget deficit of 12%, which is rising
due to the fall in tax revenue and
increased social expenditure linked
to unemployment.
Josep Bosch i Sayols, President
AD Parts
AD Parts warned its partners back in
April 2008 of the situation awaiting us
and gave them the following advice:
• We need to adapt our resources
to our actual sales potential
without neglecting growth.
• We must ensure that we can meet
our credit needs in the medium
and long term.
• Rigorous monitoring of late
payments.
• We need to manage stock
according to the frequency
of sales for individual items,
specifying a short storage period
for the parts most frequently sold
and gradually increasing the
period for parts that are less in
demand.
This advice has been followed up,
which has enabled our companies to
cope with the situation. In 2008, they
recorded 3.5% growth compared to
2007.
When the crisis struck in January
2009, 9 months after this warning,
we predicted that there would be a
discrepancy between our suppliers’
stock levels and possible product
shortages. We then advised our
members to gradually increase their
stock levels in order to improve the
availability of all our product lines. Due
to market demand and unavailability
of products from other market players,
AD Parts members were able to seize
opportunities, provided they had the
relevant parts in stock. Once again,
our members followed the advice and
reaped their rewards. Since accounts
were closed at the end of October, we
are confident that our turnover at the
end of the year will be equal to that
of 2008.
We cannot predict the future. We
can only continue to invest in our
companies with the same enthusiasm
and effort, as we believe in the
sector and hope that our results will
continue to prove us right. We not
only have the team and resources
to face the challenge, we also have
excellent suppliers. We must move
forward together under the banner
of ADI, which coordinates how we
work together, in order to weather the
storm.
Josep Bosch i Sayols,
President AD Parts
www.ad-europe.com 13

14
“Managing the short term
effectively without sacrificing
the long term “
The crisis affecting the entire
economy, and particularly the automobile
sector, has forced us to
manage our operations extremely
tightly in the short term, while
continuing to respond to our customers’
needs.
But we refuse to allow the short
term to dominate the long term
and remain firmly convinced that
lasting results are crucial. In
2010, our continued investment
in research, development and
marketing will enable us to:
• Market a new range of highly
innovative products in various
market segments.
• Launch a new communication
campaign aimed at promoting
the unsurpassed performance
of MICHELIN tyres, which
Effects of the crisis & How
Schaeffler AAM can emerge
from it
The Automotive Aftermarket has not
escaped the effects of the worldwide
economic and financial crisis. The
first signs were observed in the
fourth quarter of 2008, when many
Automotive Aftermarket customers
were compelled, due to the financial
problems of their dealer and workshop
customers, to implement even
more restrictive cash management
measures. This involved cutting back
internal inventory-to-sales ratios,
tighter receivables management and
changes to the customer structure.
A great deal of effort and hard work
(e.g. restrictive cash management,
constructive discussions and action
plans with our plants) have enabled
www.ad-europe.com
combine high adherence, reduced
fuel consumption and
outstanding durability. This
makes purchasing MICHELIN
tyres, whether during a crisis
or any other period, the best
possible investment for any
car owner.
After 2010, innovations unveiled
at the last Frankfurt Fair, which
will be included in future generations
of hybrid and electric cars,
also indicate that Michelin is set
to play a major part in the development
of sustainable mobility
over the next few decades.
Though it may seem surprising
in the current economic climate,
many consumers are looking for
quality products with highly competitive
running costs. This is
why the Michelin brand held up
remarkably well in 2009. Professional
IAMs have an important
role to play and amazing opportunities
within this context. It would
be over-simplistic to say that the
current challenges are due solely
to low prices.
AD has many assets, which
us to maintain our delivery capacity,
service commitment and the reliability
that our partners have come to
expect. This was also confirmed
when we were named “Supplier of the
Year” by AD International.
At Schaeffler Automotive Aftermarket,
we see current developments in
Michael Söding, Vice President
Sales & Marketing
Jean-Claude Pats - Marketing
& Commercial Director Europe
will enable it to respond to the
changed needs of its end consumers.
Jean-Claude Pats - Marketing
& Commercial Director
Europe
the Automotive Aftermarket as a
period of consolidation rather than
a crisis, which will continue, in our
estimation, beyond 2010. We now
need our customers to show a certain
amount of understanding and support
us by avoiding disproportionate
orders, which may otherwise lead to
supply shortages. It would be more
productive in this situation to achieve
the best possible delivery service for
all concerned, by means of longer
lead times and coordinated order
management.
The workshops, dealers and industry
as a whole will only be able to
emerge successfully from this period
of consolidation, if flows can be
managed as flexibly as possible in
terms of workshop requirements and
the availability of parts manufactured.
Michael Söding, Vice
President Sales & Marketing

Russia and
the Crisis, as
seen by AD
Russia.
Although the
crisis hit Russia
later than the
western economies, it is now one of the
countries worst affected. The fact that its
GDP fell by over 8% in 2009 indicates
that times are difficult. Many companies,
and especially manufacturers, have
ceased trading or experienced a
major downturn, leading to increased
redundancies. It is easy to predict how
this will affect consumption, as Russia
has fewer or none of the “social shock
absorbers” that exist in the economies
of Western Europe. Losing your job
pretty well means losing your income.
Social security benefits paid by the
government are lower and private
insurance schemes are still either
in their infancy or non-existent. This
situation has forced many households
to focus on the basics, in other words:
housing, food, health and education.
New vehicle sales fell by 60% and
motorists tend to leave their cars in the
garage. This is not a time to be spending
money on maintaining vehicles that are
hardly used.
The crisis followed a complete
transformation of the car population,
which began in 2002 and turned
historical IAM data for Russia upside
down.
During a period of major prosperity
lasting 8 years, the vehicle population
increased considerably to the
advantage of foreign brands (VAZ and
GAZ experienced a different fate).
Unfortunately, what might initially have
appeared to and ultimately will benefit the
IAM, at first had negative consequences
for our business. The population, except
for VAZ and GAZ, was rejuvenated and
its average age of 5.3 years now makes
it the youngest population in Europe.
Real potential exists but demand for
replacement parts will only increase at
a later stage. Moreover, it should be
noted that Asian, Korean and Japanese
manufacturers stand to gain the most
from this extraordinary wave of growth.
Eight of the ten most common vehicles
(excluding VAZ and GAZ) in today’s
Russia are not European. Whereas
« AD Avanta » in Chelyabinsk
demand for IAM used to focus mainly
on imported used German vehicles, the
market is now developing in response
to demand for parts for Asian vehicles,
which are newer and will therefore
“consume less” in the short term.
The IAM environment in Russia is
therefore in a state of flux, for structural
as well as economic reasons.
So how does AD Russia fit into this
picture? It is doing very well. Our
proactive policy has enabled us to
develop our stock in order to keep
abreast of new demands from the
market. At the same time, our policy
aimed at protecting margins may have
lost us a little volume but it has protected
the profitability of our partners/affiliates.
Due to investment in fields such as
Fabrice Rosi, AD Russia
Coordinator
product management and marketing,
together with the many opportunities
offered to us by AD International through
its “supplier portfolio” and management/
sales programmes, and the support and
solidarity of our many partner suppliers,
AD Russia is riding the storm without
suffering any damage. Of course, our
sales volume has fallen slightly but
within manageable proportions and it
continues to “exceed” the general trend.
Within this turmoil, AD Russia has again
earned its stripes through resilience
and is still recognised as the “leading”
organisation in the sector. Its recent
acquisition of two new partners/affiliates,
the Avanta and Mikado companies,
which joined AD Russia when the crisis
was at its peak in March and October
2009, respectively, serves as further
evidence of this strength.
Our suppliers understand the necessity
of doubling their efforts to expand their
ranges to include components for Asian
cars and will help us continuously
develop our stock. It is also likely that
we will acquire further partners/affiliates
and that the crisis will have to end before
too long. The car population in Russia
is still young yet one of the largest in
Europe. All of these factors serve to
reassure us that the Russian IAM, and
particularly AD Russia, represent one of
the best growth areas within our sector.
Fabrice Rosi
AD Russia Coordinator
Board Member
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