Sales of dashcams and other mobile electronics equipment for cars are booming in the Covid pandemic as motorists spend more on new technology and ”creature comforts” because they can’t travel overseas.

Darryl Abotomey, chief executive of ASX-listed Bapcor in Australia, which operates chains including Autobarn, Autopro and Burson, said dashcams are extremely popular there.

“It’s very, very strong,” he said. “People are spending more on creature comforts,” he added “We expect that will continue”.

He said the entire mobile electronics category was extremely robust, and in some cases there had been such high demand there were product shortages.

On the road. Dash cam sales are booming for retailers as people upgrade to the latest technology.

There had also been a large dip in new vehicle sales over the past few months which had only just rebounded in October, and a large spike in used car sales as people steered away from public transport and bought a second or third car for their household.

“Used car sales are going through the roof and people are spending money doing them up,” he said.

With international travel off the agenda and domestic travel still crimped, funds are being diverted to other consumer goods. People are flocking to Dashcams, which record traffic on the roads for different reasons, such as disputing traffic infringements, evidence for insurance purposes in the event of an accident, or for sharing on social media.

“They’ve got more time to do things and they’re upgrading vehicles,” he said. Same-store sales at Autobarn were up 36 per cent in the first three months of 2020.

It’s a similar picture on a global front.

Nextbase, one of the world’s largest Dash Cam companies, has 80 per cent of the UK market and 60 per cent in Europe and a few weeks ago just started selling its products in Australia. It competes against brands such as Uniden, Thinkware, Gator, Garmin and Navman.

Nextbase commercial director Richard Browning said Australia’s early take-up of the Nextbase range had been strong, and the appetite was similar worldwide.
“People have got a lot more disposable cash. They’re not travelling and they’ve also got more time,” he said.

The company sells about 1.2 million units each year around the world, and in the past six months “We’ve seen a big surge,” Mr Browning said.

People viewed their cars as a safe haven and wanted to upgrade them with the latest technology. “If you are out there buying a second-hand car you want a new vehicle experience,” he said.

Nextbase has struck a deal where it is selling its range in Repco auto parts stores in Australia first up, along with Officeworks and Camera House.

Repco operates some 550 stores in Australia. The chain is owned by GPC Asia Pacific, the local division of US automotive parts giant GPC.

Mr Browning said there had also been a shift underway by motorists to the more expensive end of the dashcam market. The average transaction size was up 15 per cent since the start of the pandemic, he said.

Supercheap Auto total sales growth over the first 17 weeks of 2020-21 climbed 22 per cent, and gained 21 per cent on a like-for-like basis, which strips out any store openings or closures.

Some of the information and figures in this article are based on a report in the Australian Financial Review penned by Simon Evans, who writes on business, specialising in retail, manufacturing, beverages, mining and M&A. No quotes have been changed. Connect with Simon on Twitter. Email Simon at [email protected]