In a recent survey, IMR Inc. asked independent repair shops, “What makes of cars and light trucks account for most of your volume?”

“Historically, most independent repair shops reported domestic makes accounting for most of their volume with a much lower percentage being Asian makes,” noted Bill Thompson, president of IMR Inc. “However, in the past few years, shops have increasingly reported that they’re seen more Asian makes.”

As illustrated in the chart below, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are the top three vehicle makes that independent repair shops say account for a major portion of their volume today. However, as Thompson noted, Asian makes Toyota, Honda and Nissan and gaining on them.

Not surprisingly, for GM and Ford, the numbers did not change much from 2009 to the first half of 2010. The percentage of repair shops saying that GM was among the makes accounting for a major part of their volume rose only slightly from roughly 77 percent of the volume to 78 percent. Ford dropped by a point, whereas the numbers for Chrysler increased nearly six and a half points.

It is interesting to note, as Thompson pointed out, that the independent repair shops surveyed have reported an increase in volume from Asian makes including Toyota, Honda and Nissan.

Note: Responses don’t add up to 100 as this is a multiple response question.

For more information on IMR and its research capabilities, visit www.AutomotiveResearch.com or call Bill Thompson at 800-654-1079.