Bodyshop Briefs
Steer Automotive Group has acquired Komoo, diversifying its market offering and strengthening its position in the UK automotive repair market. Read more The news follows just days after it acquired MG Cannon Group. Read more
Gemini ARC was named in Apprenticeship Top 100 Employers 2024 for the fourth year, finishing 86th. Read more
Fix Auto UK’s presence in the North East of England has been significantly enriched following the appointment of Fix Auto Darlington. The addition is the latest by the Drive Vauxhall organisation that now has five of its eight sites fully immersed in the Fix Auto UK network. Read more
AutoRaise has donated 50 new laptops to Emtec Colleges to support apprenticeship students and future students.
Bobbie Currie of FMGRS Dumfries has won SATA’s Custom Design Spray Gun competition.
PJB Accident Repairs has worked with Gary Chew of Small Torque to launch a new website.
Exclusive Repair Network has added ERN + to its repair offering, providing a complete repair solution for super prestige vehicles post-accident.
KC Autos has secured BMW/MINI vehicle repair approval. They join a VM portfolio including JLR, VAG, Toyota/Lexus, Stellantis, and Ford.
EB Crash Repair has been given a positive recommendation to complete our transition to BS 10125:2022.
The son of Fix Auto UK Basingstoke owner Dale Morris has started a 14,000-mile solo bike ride around the world from his father’s repair site. Henry, 24, will travel through 21 countries on an epic adventure. Read more
Industry News
Today’s challenge, tomorrow’s normal?
In a far-reaching debate during ARC360’s Future Vehicle Technology, Chris Downing, Head of Sales and Operations, Stellantis, warned that the ZEV (zero emission vehicle) Mandate is the single biggest challenge facing manufacturers today. Read more
Sector experts join motor conference line-up
James Driscoll, Senior Claims Manager – Motor Damage and Credit Hire, Aviva; Donna Scully, Joint Owner/Director, Carpenters Group; and Stuart Sandell, Assistant Vice President Sales – UK and Ireland, Enterprise Mobility are the latest leading names to join ILC’s Exclusive Motor Claims Conference 2024 agenda. Read more
Robertsons tackles repair delays with parts solution
Robertsons is helping vehicle repairers cut costs and key-to-key times by sourcing and delivering hard-to-find parts. Read more
Parking technology proves most popular car technology
According to recent survey data gathered by insurance comparison site Uswitch, the most popular automotive technology installed on vehicles are parking sensors, with the second most popular proving to be parking cameras. Read more
WorldSkills UK partners with UVAC
WorldSkills UK has announced its first ever Higher Education partnership with the University Vocational Awards Council. Read more
Repairify set for Automechanika
Repairify will showcase its advanced vehicle diagnostic and calibration technology, spearheaded by its asTech Digital ADAS Calibration Unit, at Automechanika, which takes place from 10-14 September. Read more
Copart to expand Wisbech Operation Centre
Copart UK has announced plans to expand its Operation Centre in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. Read more
Green Parts Specialists delivers carbon literacy training
The Green Parts Specialists has announced a company-wide roll-out of carbon literacy training, led by Copart UK Ltd and accredited by The Carbon Literacy Project.
FCA announces DCA complaint pause
The Financial Conduct Authority has announced that firms will not have to respond to discretionary commission arrangement (DCA) complaints until 4 December at the earliest. Read more
AkzoNobel enhances EV safety with powder coatings range
AkzoNobel has developed new innovative powder coatings technology that provides improved electrical protection for electric vehicle battery systems. Read more
20,000 automotive vacancies still a big gap to fill
The Institute of the Motor Industry’s (IMI) latest Vacancy Rate Tracker for June 2024 data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows a reduction from 3.7 to 3.6 vacancies for every 100 employees. Read more
A1 ADAS Solutions Group awarded hat-trick of ISO accreditations
One of the aftermarket’s leading ADAS, diagnostic and workshop equipment businesses has become the only specialist ADAS company in the UK to achieve three ISO standards. Read more
Positive used car outlook for the rest of 2024, but big change ahead
According to the latest market analysis by Auto Trader, based on the current trajectory, the used car market is expected to perform well in the latter half of the year, with sales predicted to rise 5% year-on-year (YoY) to circa 7.6m transactions. Read more
RWC Training gains access to Ezi-Methods
RWC Training delegates and apprentices will have full access to Ezi-Methods’ vast collection of vehicle repair methods to help with their studies. Ezi-Methods offers 77,375 repair methods encompassing 63 makes of vehicles that embodies 1,100 models and 1,517 body styles. To date, more than 5.2 million repair methods have been downloaded.
VM News
Ford BlueCruise hands-free driving technology approved for customers in Europe
Ford BlueCruise hands-free driving technology can now be used in a total of 15 European countries, following approval by the European Commission. Read more
Think global – act local for local
The Neue Klasse will usher in a new era of fully electric driving at the BMW Group – the success of which will depend heavily on the production of powerful high-voltage batteries. Read more
Nissan unveils inaugural Integrated Report and new sustainability plan
Nissan published its Integrated Report 2024, which showcases the company’s business progression as it accelerates toward its Ambition 2030 vision, always with sustainability at its core. Read more
Volvo Cars global sales up six per cent in July
Volvo Cars reported global sales of 57,447 cars in July, up 6 per cent compared to the same period last year. The sales increase was primarily driven by the strong sales of our fully electric cars in Europe. Read more
XPENG announces first global Tianji XOS 5.2 OTA upgrade
XPENG Motors, a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle company, today showcased its cutting-edge advancements in AI technology during the XPENG Smart AI Technology Conference. Read more
Uber and BYD Partner to Accelerate Global EV Transition
Uber Technologies and BYD have announced a multi-year strategic partnership designed to bring 100,000 new BYD electric vehicles onto the Uber platform across key global markets. Read more
People
Nationwide Assistance Group has appointed Stephan Surmont as Group Managing Director.
Daniel Austin has been named Procurement Senior Officer at Allianz.
It is with sadness that PPG has paid tribute to its former Market Director and well respected industry figure, Gethyn Davies who passed away this week at the age of 56. Our thoughts are with Gethyn’s family, friends and colleagues.
