Compulsory parts delivery: It will not be something European: Manufacturers are nowadays obliged to supply parts for the cars (and engines) that they have made up to ten years after the production stop.
And because the calculators and marketeers are razor-sharp, the production / delivery of those parts stops exactly after ten years. Then there is only 'what is in the market'.
Add to that the fact that production processes have meanwhile been calculated in such a way that the manufacture of parts is more likely to take place in batches of tightly calculated hundreds per run, than as before, per thousands of units.
The logistics within the automotive world have also been streamlined in such a way that the warehouse stocks at dealerships have been minimized for years and that there are virtually no roaming or forgotten batches of 'NOS' (new old stock, remaining batches of original parts). That is really finished.
And that is, according to the manufacturers, seriously justified. Some time ago we even talked to someone from a famous Japanese motorcycle brand who really went crazy when they talked about the repair of an 12 year old motorcycle. That was madness! A motorcycle was written off after 7 years and would not have to be repaired, but would have to be replaced!
Mercedes is one of the few brands that guarantees the parts supply for old (er) models, but that is of course also what the brand owes to its status.
But we are already starting to hear that parts, even wear parts such as water pumps, for cars from before 2002-2005 are simply no longer available. In a number of cases, the trade and garage owners have already 'emptied' the stocks of car recycling companies and suppliers of used stuff.
And so we now know that a Picassootje is in absolute new condition ... That has actually been declared dead. Because ... the water pump is broken
So there will be a large extinction of further perfect cars and motorbikes until 'reference' comes on the market again.
But what remains on the road, that will certainly become rare classics in 2040
Well there you are with your 4 VW T2.5 2002 TDi, faulty clutch and nowhere in the world to get out of it. Been on it for over 3 months now. Thought I had bought something nice and now regret it after half a year. And that for a brand that has dozens of them on the road.