Suppliers steer toward aftermarket with gusto.(Company Profile)(Industry Overview)(Statistical Data Included)

Purchasing, June, 2000 by Milligan, Brian

Two automotive suppliers are heading toward the aftermarket with a newfound passion. But some warn that their strategies may actually entice automakers to put the squeeze on them. "If they could enhance their financial viability through the aftermarket, the OEMs would not frown upon that," says Dennis Virag, president of the Michigan-based Automotive Consulting Group Inc.

"That just gives them more opportunities to press them on costs." "They are going to say, You are more profitable than we are in earnings. We have to trim costs a little," Virag continues. "That's the way it works." But as Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. and Visteon Automotive Systems rev up their aftermarket engines, automakers say they won't try to use the profit card to...

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