In the ultra fast moving international aftermarket, it is often hard to stay up-to-date with developments and even harder to anticipate what is coming down the line. One man with a unique perspective on the market is Kevin Kelly. Not only is he Sales Director for Bosch, one of the world’s most influential OE and aftermarket suppliers, he is also the current President of industry body the IAAF. This means he has access to a wealth of knowledge and information, about the current issues in the aftermarket and the major opportunities that will present themselves in the coming years. 

Autobiz sat down with Kevin at the recent Automechanika Birmingham show, where he shared some of his insights.  

Kevin comes from a family with both parents born on the emerald isle so has strong Irish connections. He also stays abreast of developments in the Irish market through both the Bosch Ireland team and Bosch customers. 

Kevin comments, “Things are going very well for Bosch in Ireland at present, in what is currently a very positive market. However, it has not always been this way. In past years, Ireland represented something of a missed opportunity for Bosch, so we made a conscious decision to change our approach.” 

Kevin adds, “Vital to this, was making sure we not only had people on the ground, but also the right people. We have now built a team with workshop experience and it is really paying off. Not only has our Irish turnover more than doubled in recent years, but we have also expanded our distribution network.” 

The growth of Bosch has also been reflected in another key area, with the Bosch Service Network, growing to 30 garages in Ireland, with a plan to take this to 50 by early 2026. Kevin says, “The outlook for the Irish aftermarket we believe is very positive. We recognise that garages face challenges with factors such as recruitment and access to information and Bosch will be doing everything we can to provide customers with practical support.”

Kevin also mentions how important it is to protect aftermarket businesses. He points out, “From an IAAF perspective, a key focus is the “Right to Repair Campaign”, which is vital not just in the UK but also across Ireland and globally. For this reason, it is important to work with Irish bodies such a SIMI to ensure a level playing field for all repair workshops.” 

Kevin believes that although it will come, it is too early for Irish garages to put too much emphasis on EV. Instead, he says businesses should be looking at specialist opportunities in areas such as ADAS and vehicle diagnostics. He says, “Our OE connections means we are well placed to provide garages with the very best equipment and information, when it comes to diagnostics and ADAS, so that they can make the most of the new business on offer.” 

Kevin also makes the point that when it comes to Secure Diagnostic Access, Bosch can ensure that workshops have all the latest information on an easy and economical to access basis. Bosch currently offers secure access to diagnostic and repair information from 24 vehicle manufacturers, with a further six to be added by the year end, providing direct access to VM data with-in the Bosch software. 

Kevin says, “Our diagnostic equipment and software is constantly being developed meaning that we will be well placed to ease garages into the era of the software defined vehicle. This will be a major challenge for the independent aftermarket so having the right partners will be vital.” 

As Kevin explains, Bosch as a major OE components and systems supplier to the VMs, including Chinese manufacturers, is in a unique position to access knowledge and information to pass on to the independent sector, something that will be vital as software defined vehicles emerge.   

Kevin concludes, “The mobility sector is changing fast and Bosch is at the forefront of these developments. Our whole philosophy is innovation based and as a company we do not pay dividends but put profits towards R&D. This combined with our scale, knowledge and expertise means Bosch is the ideal partner for independent garages going forward.”