Bosch leaders and Inteliam-assessed distributors share their perspectives on remanufacturing in the aftermarket

“Remanufacturing is not a niche for us”

The independent automotive aftermarket faces regulatory pressure, electrification and resource constraints, yet must keep mobility affordable and vehicles on the road longer. Bosch is clear:

Remanufacturing is not a niche for us. It is the sustainable solution whenever the technical and economic conditions are right.

Maria Rau-Bonelli, Director Sustainability Mobility Aftermarket, Bosch

Maria Rau-Bonelli, who is responsible for circular business models, highlights starters, alternators, injectors, ECUs, steering systems and brake calipers as key product groups where those conditions are already met and where market penetration continues to grow.

Bosch circularity in practice

Bosch has been active in remanufacturing for more than 60 years and now treats circularity as a strategic growth cluster in its Mobility Aftermarket business. The “Drive for Zero” initiative brings climate action, packaging efficiency, logistics optimisation and circular product strategy together in one roadmap. Its circular strategy aligns with international standards like SBTi targets and supports harmonised PCF methodologies such as the FAAS guideline based on Catena-X.

When OE projects integrate design-for-repair and design-for-reman from the beginning, the aftermarket gains scalable, economically viable circular solutions instead of late, costly fixes. The Bosch eXchange portfolio continues to expand in Europe and North America, while circular offerings are being developed in markets like China, India and Latin America. A vivid example is the hybrid-battery repair kit for Toyota and Lexus: only aged NiMH modules are replaced, while housings, cooling and electronics are reused — cutting waste and CO₂ while keeping high-value vehicles serviceable for longer.

For wholesalers and workshops, this means premium-brand quality at a lower price point, greater resilience and long-term parts availability, plus credible, measurable CO₂ and resource savings they can communicate to fleets and corporate clients.

“Very few levers connect sustainability and commercial success as directly as remanufacturing”

Reman is both a decarbonisation lever and a business strategy. Dr. Peter Lukassen, Director Sustainability Bosch Mobility Aftermarket, sums it up:

If mobility is to remain affordable and sustainable, circularity is indispensable.

Dr. Peter Lukassen, Director Sustainability Mobility Aftermarket, Bosch

A remanufactured part avoids raw-material extraction, avoids much of the manufacturing emissions of a new component and keeps the product in service longer. On alternators, Bosch has quantified the impact: when wholesalers sell reman versions instead of new imported parts, CO₂ emissions can be reduced by up to 86%, as certified by DEKRA. At the same time, they protect resources and strengthen long-term business resilience — which is why, Lukassen says, very few levers connect sustainability and commercial success as directly as remanufacturing.

FAAS: a quick snapshot of the European value chain

A recent study by the Forum on Automotive Aftermarket Sustainability across 38 European countries shows reman parts are already widely used — 85% of wholesalers distribute reman, and 90% of workshops say their preferred wholesaler offers them — but also highlights barriers. Limited availability, core-management complexity and low customer awareness remain some of the key issues.

For workshops, price advantage remains the main driver, followed by quality and warranty, with ecological aspects a secondary factor. This confirms Bosch's approach: reman must win first on value and quality, with sustainability as a strong “and also” argument. Communication and education at customer and workshop levels is also required, to make the reman option more widely adopted and accepted.

Voices from the network: from full-reman leaders to hesitant markets

Companies assessed by Inteliam show how different reman looks across Europe — from “pure” reman distributors or suppliers, to markets where complexity and perceived value still hold it back.

From Belgium, Sanders Parts shows what is possible when quality, price and trust align:

We are proud of our new commitment to remanufactured products. We have managed to convince our customers — bus companies as well as the Belgian public transport operator — to accept reman parts, specifically brake calipers and steering pumps. They are so satisfied that our latest contract with them is now exclusively for reman products.

Niels Sanders, Sanders Parts

From Romania, Trucks Elements Express underlines how pricing and core processes can be turned into a structured offer:

We believe in remanufacturing, so we offer both new parts and reman parts to our transport-company customers. Reman parts are cheaper, and this is a winning argument in our market. We invoice the core values to clients who are keen to return the cores to us, and we make a dedicated effort to collect them. This is supported by good cooperation with several global remanufacturing suppliers.

Lucian Crisan, Trucks Elements Express

From Lithuania and Finland, Jupojos and HL Group provide an honest view of the obstacles many still face:

We have to admit that promoting remanufacturing has not always been successful. The price advantage is often not perceived as strong enough by our customers, especially when compared to alternative imported private-label offers. Lithuanian customers and workshops rarely ask us for reman products still, and the handling of reman parts in our warehouse and systems — together with the challenge of core returns from customers — adds complexity and operational challenges. Still, we will keep trying.

Raimundas Vaisvilas, Jupojos

Distributing remanufactured parts means more work and more risk, for often a limited price advantage for the client. Also not all our customers care yet about the environmental benefit of reman.

Markku Nikkinen, HL Group

And from the UK, Carwood shows what it means when remanufacturing sits at the core of the business model:

Now more than ever, aftermarket companies need access to a broad range of high-quality, competitively-priced parts, for an even broader range of vehicles. Remanufacturing checks all these boxes. Proven OE-performance, savings of at least 25% compared with new, and coverage of both old and late-model vehicles. By choosing an OE-approved product from a company like Carwood, motor factors and garages can appeal to a wider customer base — those who are looking for value, and those who want OEM performance. This provides businesses with an opportunity to sell more, improve profitability and keep customers coming back, driving both revenue and long-term loyalty. But that's not the only benefit. In retaining both the material and value added — labour, energy and processes — from the original product, remanufacturing also uses up to 70% less material, 85% less energy and creates less waste to landfill. So aftermarket companies can also do their bit for the environment, as well as their bottom line.

Alan Baird, Carwood UK

These voices reflect what we see across the value chain: strong reman leadership in some segments and regions, and in others, gaps in perceived price advantage, customer demand and operational simplicity. As an independent assessment platform for the aftermarket, Inteliam continuously measures both the level of reman activity across the network and the maturity of reman processes. The differences between regions and between companies remain significant — but awareness and commitment grow year after year.