b'Dear Partners,The mountain passes in Switzerland are not only an adventure to drive, but also a reminder that getting to any destination in life comes with twists and turns. The electri\x1fcation of the automotive industry is surely experiencing that rightTo now and it is showing no signs of becoming a \x1eat road. Until recently, it seemedsummarize, inevitable that in the early to mid-2030s the end to the sale of the combustionthe European car engine was de\x1fnitive, and the new registrations were going to tilt progressivelypark continues to grow towards battery powered vehicles. while the replacement towards electri\x1fcation is painfully To the surprise of most politicians and forecasters, the car buyers, however, haveslow in Germany e.g. the \x1frst quarter their own mind set. By the end of 2023, around 2.6 million of the 288 million2024 EV registrations are down 14%. Trusting registered vehicles in the US were battery powered, a share of less than 1% ofthat companies like SSF are better at global sourcing total. The share of newly registered EVs in 2024 has been \x1eat at just over 7% ofof the complete parts program for the vehicles on the road, total new registrations, indicating that by the end of the year the share of EVs asit is reasonable to predict that shops are growing in their part of the entire car park will still not even near 2%. competitiveness against the dealers while simultaneously becoming the more attractive employers. At the very least these registration numbers complicate the planning of investments for car manufacturers, parts manufacturers, and dealerships for theTogether, lets make sure to take advantage of these opportunities!next decade as they prepare for this hazy future. Manufacturers must predict the right parts in the precise amounts and be accurate in their forecasted demand to stay relevant and successful. With an ever-changing registration prognosis, theirYours,task continues to become more challenging year after year.Fortunately for the Aftermarket, we have a far more predictable future. The total European car park in the US grew in 2023 from 22.4 million to 22.8 million vehicles with only a small share of EVs, as Tesla continues to dominate thatThomas Beerspace with 56% of all EV sales. The age of the European \x1eeet has reached 11.6 years and is still 1 year younger than the rest of the vehicles in operation. The further ageing of our vehicles translates to a growing market for all of us.'