On 5th April the consultant company had invited more than 150 experts from the car parts and accessories sectors for its third conference concerning the car component aftermarket. As tyres are counted as part this segment as well, trends from this part of the business were presented and discussed as well. In times where sales of new cars begin to drop, the importance of the aftermarket business begins to grow again. But on the other hand the competition in this field is fiercer than ever -due also to the internet and e-commerce. This was the reason why the event was subtitled “The good times are over – means for success in hard times”. And the topics of the internet and e-commerce were at least mentioned by almost every speaker, sometimes being even the main topic. These new media enable the industry to provide products directly to the end consumer, leaving behind the old traditions of trade via wholesaler and retailers.