Overview of Cardan Shaft Spare Parts Shortages and Repair Costs
Market disruptions are largely driven by deliveries paused by US and European contractors and by extended lead times for spare parts sourced from China, Turkey, Taiwan and other regions. The ripple effect spreads across the repair ecosystem, lifting both the price of parts and the cost of service. Industry observers estimate that car repair bills could rise by a fifth to nearly a third in the current year, with some components like cardan shafts seeing notable increases around the mid-20s percentile.
Beyond higher repair charges, two additional consequences are evident. First, the market has seen a rise in low-cost Chinese analogues. Second, repair times lengthen, with immediate bottlenecks in specialized equipment affecting owners of heavy equipment brands such as JCB, John Deere, Caterpillar and Liebherr the most.
An interesting point emerges regarding domestic production. The GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod does not manufacture cardan shafts in house; instead, it installs third‑party units from Turkish supplier Tirsan or Naberezhnye Chelny based UKD firms. This sourcing strategy illustrates the broader shift toward imported components within the local supply chain.
Expert perspective
Alexander Prikhodko, Development Director at CardanBalance, notes that while spare parts for passenger car cardan shafts are strained, the supply is not at a breaking point. Specialists can locate original components or reliable equivalents for most makes and models. For example, after Renault exited the market for certain spares, original parts for Renault models such as the Duster and the Nissan Terrano platform remained accessible to customers, demonstrating resilience in some segments.
For commercial vehicles, Turkish cardan parts from manufacturers like Tirsan and In-Tech are frequently used due to their robust quality and parity with original components. In particular, these parts have become a practical alternative in today’s environment.
However, certain heavy-duty components remain scarce. Spline joints and crosses for the 520-series used in some Scania trucks are hard to secure, sometimes to the point of compromise on price or availability. A similar scarcity pattern appears with specific parts from Welte and EDS, companies that historically supplied cardan shaft components. This scarcity tends to aid resellers and speculative traders in the market.
The ongoing strategy to mitigate shortages involves the use of universal spare parts, such as Turkish or Chinese splines, forks and crosses. While these universal parts can extend repair times due to compatibility and adaptation needs, practitioners report that, when properly sourced, the resulting repair work maintains a high standard of quality. Ongoing efforts to diversify suppliers and streamline procurement processes hold promise for stabilizing overall repair costs within a modest growth band of about 10-15%, even amid persistent supply pressures.
Researchers and technicians emphasize careful part selection and verification to ensure compatibility and safety. The balance between cost savings and reliability remains central to decisions in both passenger and commercial vehicle segments. Attribution: CardanBalance expert insights.