More than 1,200 repair and body shops hit in a year, but parts distributors are even more exposed

Business failures are rising in France’s automotive aftermarket. According to a study by Insurancia, 1,511 proceedings were recorded between October 2025 and September 2026, a 7.2 percent year-over-year increase.

Repair and body shops are on the front line: they account for nearly 80 percent of cases, or 1,203 proceedings, up 9.8 percent. The rise was especially sharp in the second quarter of 2026, with 342 shops affected, compared with 273 a year earlier (up 25.3 percent).

At 109 failures per 10,000 businesses, garages show a rate twice the national average (53.7). Repairers are not the most exposed, however: parts distributors reach 143.1 per 10,000 in retail and 127 in wholesale.

In 65 percent of cases, the company is liquidated at the first ruling, without a recovery period. The Île-de-France region concentrates much of the increase, with 275 failures (up 19 percent).

Source(s) image : Abobe Stock