More leading names added to ARC360 conference line-up
Michael Golding, Network Manager, Allianz; Martyn Rowley, Executive Director, NBRA & VBRA Commercial; and Andy Whatmough, Managing Director, S&G Response are three more leading names added to ARC360’s conference line-up.
More than 20 major insurance brands and over 60 of the sector’s leading repairers have already confirmed their support of ARC360’s 2025 conference which takes place on Thursday 22 May at the British Motor Museum, Gaydon. Full story
NBRA joins ILC as Industry Body Partner to further support repair community
NBRA – the UK’s leading vehicle body repair membership organisation – has joined ILC as an Industry Body Partner to help support the UK’s accident repair community and provide even greater value to its members.
Building on an already close working relationship, the partnership sees NBRA onboarded with ILC as an Industry Body Partner providing its members with discounts to ILC events, and free access to daily motor insurance claims market news and insights. ILC will also help the NBRA engage with senior industry stakeholders from across the motor insurance claims sector. Full story
The Vella Group has announced the acquisition of First National Vehicles, which trades as Central Accident Repairs, in Wednesbury, West Midlands. This new location will become The Vella Group’s 18th site and marks the company’s first acquisition of 2025. Full story
Tony Bird, Accident Repair Centre Manager at Vertu Accident Repair Centre Truro, has been named as Accident Repair Centre Manager of the Year at Vertu 2024 CEO Management Awards. Full story
Cougar Accident Repair Centre is teaming up with Vauxhall partner Thurlow Nunn Luton to raise funds for Keech Hospice Care, Luton & Dementia UK by climbing Scafell Pike.
LD Autovogue has passed another BSI Kitemark Audit with the help and guidance of ECS, its Ezi Compliance System.
Avant Group was officially Carbon Neutral for 2024 after taking meaningful action by supporting a Global Portfolio of Verified Carbon Reduction Projects through Carbon Footprint.
East Bilney Coachworks’ Norwich South branch is proud to be one of the first to receive official BYD manufacturer approval for all paint and body repairs, working in partnership with Busseys.
H&L Motors has celebrated more than a decade of consecutive first-time audit passes on the Volkswagen Paint & Body approved network.
Fylde Coast Accident Repair Centre has successfully passed its latest BSI Kitemark BS10125 audit with a 100% pass rate.
The Motor Ombudsman has announced that eight branches of Lindleys Autocentres have gained accreditation to its Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair.
Volkswagen optimises vehicle development through 3DExperience
Volkswagen Group has inked a long-term partnership Dassault Systèmes to advance its digital infrastructure for state-of-the-art vehicle development. The 3DExperience platform is designed to help automotive manufacturers streamline collaboration and deliver data-driven approaches to manage complexity in the electric vehicle market. Full story
Volkswagen Future Plan: Passenger Cars brand gives first glimpse of entry-level electric model at works meeting
Thomas Schäfer, CEO of the Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand, presented plans for the future of the core brand. Employees also had a first glimpse of the design of the Volkswagen brand’s future entry-level electric model at a price of about €20,000.Volkswagen plans to present the show car for the new entry-level model to the public at the beginning of March. Full story
Honda EV Hub Prepares for new level of flexible production in reimagined manufacturing environment
Honda has provided a first look at its innovative approach to manufacture electric vehicles by late 2025 at the Honda EV Hub in Ohio, detailing the company’s flexible approach that uniquely positions Honda to build internal combustion engine, hybrid-electric, and battery electric vehicles on the same production lines. Full story
GM acquires full ownership of Cruise
General Motors has completed its previously announced acquisition of GM Cruise Holdings LLC following the approval of GM’s merger offer by the Cruise Board of Directors. Now a wholly-owned subsidiary of GM, Cruise going forward will work collaboratively on autonomous vehicle technology and advanced driver assistance systems for personal vehicles. Full story
Toyota Open Labs invites small and medium-sized companies to join the mobility transformation and create a sustainable future
Toyota Motor Europe and partners have launched an open call for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to apply to join the Toyota Open Labs innovation platform. The initiative aims to connect SMEs with business units across the Toyota group and support their ambitions to collaborate, scale up and contribute to a sustainable future. Full story
XPENG announces its arrival in Ireland and Finland
XPENG Motors, the Chinese born carmaker specialising in smart electric mobility, announces its arrival on the Irish and Finnish markets with a series of events in Dublin and Helsinki. Full story
Quantum computing at the BMW Group
The BMW Group has been carrying out detailed research into the potential of quantum computing since 2017. In the not-too-distant future, this technology could solve previously unsolvable complex problems in fields such as materials science and artificial intelligence (AI). This article provides a short overview of how quantum computers work and how they could be used at the BMW Group. Full story
NIO Inc. delivered 13,863 vehicles in January, Increasing by 37.9% YoY
NIO Inc. delivered 13,863 vehicles in January 2025, representing an increase of 37.9% year-over-year. The deliveries consisted of 7,951 vehicles from the premium smart electric vehicle brand NIO, and 5,912 vehicles from the family-oriented smart electric vehicle brand ONVO. Cumulative deliveries reached 685,427 as of January 31, 2025. Full story
Nissan preparing to pull out of merger talks with Honda
Nissan is preparing to pulling out of merger talks with Honda in order to try to find another partner to help with the shift towards electric vehicles.
The two Japanese automotive firms revealed in December that they were considering a £46bn merger, alongside Mitsubishi, to create the world’s third-largest carmaker in terms of annual sales. However, the talks have stuttered amid tensions over the perceived imbalance between the parties. Full story
AutoRaise relaunches to secure the future of automotive repair
AutoRaise, the charity dedicated to addressing the UK’s automotive repair skills crisis through apprenticeships, is relaunching during National Apprenticeship Week 2025 with a bold new vision to tackle the industry’s talent shortage. At a time when the industry faces over 5,000 unfilled roles, AutoRaise is stepping up efforts to connect young people with life-changing career opportunities. Full story
Charge Up: Quarterly EV Insights
The latest quarterly analysis from Activate Group and Gecko Risk’s EV data platform revealed that in 2024 more than 400,000 battery electric vehicles were registered on UK roads, an increase of 50,000 on 2023. The first quarter of 2024 witnessed a sharp decrease in average EV repair costs, reaching their lowest point in May. However, the latter half of the year saw a steady increase, culminating in an average cost of £3,482 by December. Full story
National Apprenticeship Week: The IMI calls for urgency over critical reforms in apprenticeship funding
Ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is calling for urgency over reforms for apprenticeship funding. The professional body believes this is critical to ensure a robust skills pipeline can meet the automotive sector’s future needs, which are integral to the government’s net zero targets. Full story
Solera Audatex hits key growth milestone in 2024
Solera Audatex has announced a significant milestone in its growth and impact on its UK user base. In 2024 it supported an additional 222 UK repair sites across 187 new customers, averaging more than four new sites per week, enabling greater connectivity across the UK crash-repair supply chain. Full story
NBRA seeks feedback on EDAM administration
The NBRA is working with the administrators of the EDAM Group, Interpath, to support any bodyshops impacted by the announcement on 6 January that the business is closing. It has taken legal advice and is now urging any repairers with unpaid invoices, vehicles still on site or repairs that have not yet commenced to contact the NBRA at bodyshops@rmif.co.uk with relevant details. Full story
Repairify launches revolutionary Digital Technician Apprenticeship Programme in conjunction with QA
Ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, Repairify is announcing the launch of the industry’s first bespoke Digital Technician Apprenticeship Programme in conjunction with world-class training provider QA, helping to address the acute skills shortage within the sector. Full story
LKQ Europe supports EU’s Mobility Transition Pathway with landmark technician training pledge
As part of the Mobility Transition Pathway, LKQ Europe has committed to an ambitious training target to support the green and digital transformation of the automotive sector. Through the dedicated LKQ Academy training division, the company will upskill 24,000 technicians to safely maintain and repair hybrid and electric vehicles across 11 countries by 2028. Full story
Charles Trent unveils green Parts Portal
Charles Trent has launched its innovative B2B Parts Portal to help businesses source and order high-quality green parts. The portal provides instant access to Charles Trent’s live database of over 100,000 quality-assured green parts, all available for next-day delivery. Full story
Car insurance costs drop £221 in a year with younger drivers and those in London benefitting most
The typical cost of car insurance has fallen by £221 annual new data shows. The 23% drop means an average premium fell to £729 in December 2024, compared to £950 in December 2023, Compare the Market says. This marks the cheapest monthly average premium since May 2023 when the average a motorist was paying was £718. Full story
EV share rises despite contracting market but tax hikes threaten targets
The UK new car market fell by 2.5% to 139,345 units in January, according to data released by the Society of Motor manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), as weak consumer confidence and tough economic conditions combined to deliver the fourth consecutive month of decline. Registrations by both fleet and private buyers were down in the month, by 3.7% and 0.5% respectively. Full story
Light commercial vehicle market declines in January
Britain’s new light commercial vehicle (LCV) market fell by 20.5% in the first month of 2025 with 19,050 vans, pick-ups and 4x4s registered, according to the latest figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). A second consecutive monthly decline follows robust growth in 2024, and is set against a tough economic backdrop and weakened business confidence to invest. Full story
Retail prices stable as used car market sees record start to 2025
According to the latest data from Auto Trader, the used car market has begun the new year on firm footing despite concerns around the economy, with cars selling at a record pace, engagement on Auto Trader accelerating to seasonal highs, and retail prices continuing to stabilise. Full story
Apprenticeship Central shines a spotlight on VDAs
Apprenticeship Central has highlighted the key role Vehicle Damage Assessors play in a bodyshop’s efficiency and success. More than just an estimator, the VDA plays a pivotal role as the link between the customer, the repair process, and the business’s bottom line. A skilled VDA doesn’t just contribute to the business; they help define its success. Full story
Laura Straiton has joined Avant Repair Network as Business Development Manager.
Rachel Meenaghan has started a new position as Business Development, Events and Marketing Manager at NBRA/VBRA.
Danny Rota has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer at ITAS.
Lisa Coté has been appointed as VP sales and sales operations at motor retail technology market leader iVendi.
Operations Director, John Keeton is celebrating 20 years at FMG.
US: Jake Rodenroth has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer at Quality Collision Group.
