October 2026 Collision Corner
Axalta Coating Systems and AkzoNobel shareholders voted Aug. 5 to approve their $25 billion merger of equals, clearing a major hurdle for two of the industry’s largest refinish coatings suppliers to combine. Each Axalta share converts into 0.6539 AkzoNobel shares, with Axalta holders taking roughly 45% of the combined company. Both companies say pricing and supply stay unchanged for shops in the meantime, with regulatory approval still pending and closing expected late 2026 or early 2027.
Nearly two-thirds of drivers surveyed, 64%, said they plan to keep driving their current vehicle until it becomes too expensive or too difficult to repair, according to the report. That tracks with industry data on the aging car parc: the average age of vehicles in the U.S. reached 12.8 years in 2025, according to CCC Intelligent Solutions’ Crash Course 2026 report. Vehicles between seven and 12 years old now account for nearly 41% of total loss valuations, up from 33.4% in 2020, per the same report. The survey also found that 45% of drivers said they would reduce coverage or raise their deductible if their insurance costs jumped 10%, and 29% said they would consider canceling or suspending their coverage entirely. Both figures point toward a trend already showing up in shops: a growing share of customer-pay work as the pool of insured repairable claims shrinks. Repairable claims fell 10.4% through August 2025 compared with the previous year, while total loss frequency reached 22.8% through October, on pace for a second consecutive record, according to data ABN reported in December.
