On Monday, in our AMN Executive Interview series, we sit down with Behzad Rassuli, vice president, market intelligence for the Auto Care Association, to discuss the latest industry research released in the 2016 Auto Care Association Factbook, as well as the results of the association’s first-ever State of the Industry Form and Report. In this excerpt from Monday’s complete interview, Rassuli talks about the changes to the Factbook over the years.
The Auto Care Association just released the 2016 Factbook. How long has this product been produced and how has it changed over the years as industry and member needs have changed?
2015 marks the 25 years of the Factbook. Before publishing this 25th anniversary edition, we dug through our archives to see just how far we, and the industry, have come. We found the Factbook from 1991, the very first one published, was a print-only publication weighing in at 13 pages. By contrast, this year’s Factbook was 116 pages, completely digital, covering all vehicles on the road including those outside the borders of the U.S. The evolution of the publication is a direct reflection of our ever-evolving industry. Vehicles, parts, service equipment, retail – all have been completely transformed over the past 25 years by technology, and we may still be in the nascent stages of the impact of technology on this industry. It’s not just the digital boundaries we are seeing change, but the physical as well. The auto care industry is more global today than ever before. These types of changes have driven the growth of the Factbook, as we constantly strive to stay ahead of the needs of the industry, and provide actionable research to businesses to help them plan for the future.
