Vehicle modification spans appearance, performance, handling, utility and comfort upgrades. The figures below cover U.S. specialty-equipment estimates and surveys, plus a preliminary Klang Valley, Malaysia study, with each population, period and definition kept explicit.
Key Vehicle Modification Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- U.S. specialty-equipment sales reached $52.3 billion in 2023, according to a SEMA industry estimate.
- The U.S. specialty-equipment market grew about 1% from 2022 to 2023, measuring sales rather than the number of modified vehicles.
- The U.S. specialty-automotive sector generated nearly $337 billion in economic impact in the 2023 report, including the broader ecosystem.
- About 1.3 million U.S. jobs were supported by the specialty-equipment sector in the 2023 estimate, rather than by modification labor alone.
- Appearance and accessory products generated $27.41 billion in U.S. sales in 2023, the largest listed product category.
- Engine and performance products generated $12.56 billion in U.S. sales in 2023.
- Wheels, tires and handling products generated $12.38 billion in U.S. sales in 2023.
- Alternative-power vehicles generated $2.5 billion in U.S. specialty-equipment sales in 2023, including EV and hybrid accessorization.
- Pickups accounted for 32% of U.S. accessory and performance-parts sales in 2023.
- Half of people modifying cars and trucks were under age 40 in the 2024 SEMA report, based on 2023 data.
- Among U.S. vehicle owners aged 30–39, 31% were accessorizers in 2020, using SEMA’s consumer definition.
- Forty-three percent of U.S. enthusiast specialty-equipment consumers first modified within three months of acquiring a vehicle in 2020.
- In 2020, 34% of U.S. specialty-equipment consumers bought parts exclusively online, while 42% used mixed-mode shopping.
- DIY installation represented 63% of pickup-segment purchases in the 2020 SEMA model.
- The Klang Valley study recorded average modification or retrofitting spending of MYR 3,033 per respondent, with a MYR 100–MYR 21,800 range.
- Tint film was reported by 70.19% of 265 valid Klang Valley respondents, or 186 people, in the study reported in 2016.
Contents
- U.S. vehicle modification market size and growth
- Vehicle modification data by vehicle type and category
- Who modifies vehicles: age and participation
- When vehicle owners begin modifying
- Vehicle modification shopping, installation and information
- Vehicle modification costs in a Malaysian survey
U.S. Vehicle Modification Market Size and Growth
SEMA’s specialty-equipment definition is broader than every form of vehicle modification, so its market figures are useful indicators of industry scale rather than a census of modified vehicles. In 2023, SEMA estimated U.S. automotive specialty-equipment sales at $52.3 billion, up about 1% from 2022; its 2022 estimate was $51.8 billion after 2% growth.
The same 2023 report estimated nearly $337 billion in U.S. economic impact and about 1.3 million supported jobs. Those are broader industry estimates, not direct modification spending or modification-specific employment.
The 2023 product mix shows where spending concentrated:
| U.S. specialty-equipment category | 2023 sales estimate |
|---|---|
| Appearance and accessories | $27.41 billion |
| Engine and performance | $12.56 billion |
| Wheels, tires and handling | $12.38 billion |
| Alternative-power vehicles, including EVs and hybrids | $2.5 billion |
Source: Automotive Specialty-Equipment Sales Grow to $52.3 Billion. The alternative-power figure covers accessorization, not factory equipment.
In the 2022 outlook, more than 80% of SEMA-surveyed specialty-equipment companies expected sales to stay the same or grow in 2023. That is a business-expectation survey, not realized sales growth.
Vehicle Modification Data by Vehicle Type and Category
Vehicle-segment shares describe the distribution of accessory and performance-parts sales, not the proportion of each vehicle type that owners modify. In 2023, pickups accounted for 32% of U.S. sales, CUVs for 15% and SUVs for 12%.
The earlier 2020 SEMA market model provides additional scale for pickups and SUVs:
| Vehicle segment | 2020 modeled market size | Market share | Modeled vehicle base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickups | $13.32 billion | 28% | 57.6 million |
| SUVs | $6.00 billion | 13% | 37.3 million |
Source: 2021 SEMA Market Report. These are modeled specialty-equipment figures, not all aftermarket spending.
Within the 2020 segment mix, utility accessories represented 16% of pickup specialty-equipment dollars, while wheels and tires represented 15% of SUV-segment dollars. In the same model, pickup owners were classified as enthusiasts at a 47% rate, but that classification is not equivalent to confirmed modification activity.
Among U.S. accessorizers’ vehicles in 2020, exterior-body products appeared on 24%, lighting on 21%, suspension, brakes and steering products on 19%, and wheels and tires on 17%. The survey excluded standard replacement items in specified categories, including standard lightbulbs and all-season tires.
Who Modifies Vehicles: Age and Participation Statistics
SEMA’s populations are accessorizers or specialty-equipment consumers, not all vehicle owners. The 2024 SEMA report, using 2023 data, found that half of people modifying cars and trucks were under 40.
The 2020 age pattern among U.S. vehicle owners was:
| Vehicle-owner age | Share classified as accessorizers, 2020 |
|---|---|
| 16–29 | 29% |
| 30–39 | 31% |
| 40–49 | 17% |
| 50–59 | 12% |
| 60 and older | 10% |
Source: 2021 SEMA Market Report. These are age-group participation figures under SEMA’s accessorizer definition.
The same report said accessorizers aged 16–29 represented 29% of accessorizers but 23% of all vehicle owners in 2020. Those percentages have different denominators and should not be treated as a single modification rate.
For product-specific segments in 2023, accessorizers aged 16–29 owned 28% of vehicles modified with wheel-and-tire products, while those aged 30–39 accounted for 24%. Accessorizers under 40 accounted for 19% of vehicles modified with lighting products.
These are shares within modified-vehicle segments, not prevalence among all vehicles.
Source: SEMA Research: 50% of Vehicle Accessorizers Are Young Enthusiasts.
When Vehicle Owners Begin Modifying
The timing of the first modification is relatively front-loaded among surveyed specialty-equipment consumers. In 2020, 43% of enthusiasts first modified within three months of acquiring a vehicle, compared with 37% of non-enthusiasts.
| Time after acquisition | Enthusiasts | Non-enthusiasts |
|---|---|---|
| Within three months | 43% | 37% |
| Four to six months | 20% | 19% |
| Seven to twelve months, enthusiasts | 15% | — |
| One to two years, non-enthusiasts | — | 16% |
Source: 2021 SEMA Retail Trends Report. The source reports these groups separately; the dashes do not indicate zero.
The underlying SEMA survey covers vehicles modified with specialty-aftermarket parts. It therefore describes the timing of modification among specialty-equipment consumers, not the purchase behavior of every vehicle owner.
Vehicle Modification Shopping, Installation and Information Trends
Shopping was split across digital and physical channels in the 2020 U.S. specialty-equipment consumer survey. Thirty-four percent bought parts exclusively online, 42% used mixed-mode shopping and 24% bought exclusively in person.
Across all accessorizers, 42% of part purchases were ordered online and shipped home, 15% were ordered online and picked up or installed in store, and 36% were ordered in store and picked up or installed in store. These are purchase-channel shares, not shares of unique buyers or total dollars.
The 2020 pickup-segment model estimated that 63% of purchases used DIY installation. This is a modeled installation share for the pickup specialty-equipment segment, not a survey of every pickup owner.
Online-only shoppers also reported several information sources:
- Search engines or review websites were used by 50% of online-only shoppers.
- Parts-manufacturer websites were used by 48% of online-only shoppers.
- Advertisements were used by 40% of online-only shoppers.
Source for shopping modes and information sources: 2021 SEMA Retail Trends Report. Multiple information sources could be selected, so these percentages are not mutually exclusive.
Vehicle Modification Costs in a Malaysian Survey
A peer-reviewed study of aftermarket behavior in Klang Valley, Malaysia analyzed 265 valid modification or retrofitting responses. Reported spending averaged MYR 3,033 per respondent, ranging from MYR 100 to MYR 21,800.
The paper describes the investigation as preliminary and self-reported. It also cautions that a response may represent a whole system, a component or an accessory, so the figures should not be generalized to Malaysia or compared directly with the U.S. market estimates.
Tint film was reported by 186 respondents, or 70.19% of the sample. The main item counts also included 152 tire changes, 74 rim changes, 63 engine-related parts or complete engine systems, 61 brake-system modifications, 58 body-kit modifications and 51 suspension modifications.
| Modification item | Respondents | Mean reported cost | Reported range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine item | 63 | MYR 2,041.75 | MYR 80–MYR 12,000 |
| Body kit | 58 | MYR 1,393.26 | MYR 100–MYR 5,000 |
| Tire item | 152 | MYR 1,129.08 | MYR 480–MYR 3,200 |
| Tint film | 186 | MYR 780.81 | MYR 50–MYR 4,000 |
| Suspension item | 51 | MYR 1,043.53 | MYR 60–MYR 3,600 |
| Exhaust item | Not stated in the supplied count | MYR 620.50 | MYR 50–MYR 1,800 |
Source: Car Users’ Aftermarket Behaviour in Klang Valley: A Special Focus on Auto-Tinting. The paper notes that 28 combined tire-and-rim responses can change separate tire and rim counts, so those item totals require care.
These Malaysian cost statistics are descriptive sample results from the survey period reported in the 2016 paper. They measure reported ringgit spending per item or respondent where labeled, not standardized installed prices, and they do not establish outcomes such as resale value, reliability or performance.