Category: Environment

WorldSkills UK winners celebrated

The best apprentices in the UK were celebrated at WorldSkills UK’s glittering ceremony at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall.

More than 6,000 young people registered to take part in the WorldSkills UK Competitions, with the winners announced following six months of local and regional qualifiers and two days of competition at the National Finals.

Uninsured driver hotspots revealed

New data has revealed that Leeds, Bristol, Salford and Manchester top the UK list of uninsured drivers.

The figures have been released by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau ahead of the launch of Operation Drive Insured, an annual campaign to get uninsured drivers off the road. 

Steer plans to nearly double apprentice numbers

Steer Automotive Group plans to nearly double its apprenticeship numbers by the end of next year.

It already has 159 apprentices employed across 90% of its 98 sites but plans to increase that substantially in the next 12 months so apprentices make up 16% of its technical workforce.

Meanwhile, it has also welcomed apprentices from the Apollo and Balgores regions at 3M’s state-of-the-art training centre.

Fix Auto UK expands service and footprint

Fix Auto Penzance has installed a bank of on-site electric car chargers for customers and colleagues alike. The company has installed two 40 KW fast charge DC units along with a 20 KW AC fast charger, while an app enables drivers to pay for the service ensuring there is no cost to the business.

Meanwhile, the Fix Auto UK network is continuing to grow in Northern Ireland with the appointment of MRB Auto Body, a 10,000 sqft site which will now operate as Fix Auto Ballymoney.

Ben pilots apprenticeships with driving lessons

Automotive charity Ben has joined forces with industry body The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders to support apprentices progress in the sector through funded driving lessons.

The pilot scheme, Drive to Thrive, will offer apprentices from disadvantaged backgrounds up to 44 hours of funded driving lessons while they are learning their trade.

Making the most of the autonomous revolution

The road ahead has been cleared for autonomous driving in the UK, with the government committed to a ‘transport revolution’ in the coming years.

In this contributed feature, ARC360 partner Repairify considers the implications for automotive repair sector, and what opportunities self-driving may present.

Mixed reviews to Autumn Budget

The NBRA has given mixed reviews to the government’s Autumn Statement, welcoming general measures to boost industry but highlighting a lack of support directly targeting the automotive repair sector.

Executive director Martin Rowley said, “In the aftermath of the Autumn Statement, NBRA acknowledges certain government initiatives supporting our members. However, we underscore the ongoing need for precise support measures aimed at sustaining the automotive repair sector amidst economic uncertainties.”

Trio celebrate Lotus accreditation

Steer Prestige, Farnham (South), Chaplane Colchester and East Bilney Coachworks have all been named approved repairers for Lotus.

Accreditation recognises the company’s long-standing commitment to meeting the exacting standards of the prestige vehicle manufacturer in terms of training, tools, repair methods and on-site facilities.

Accreditation achievements

Fix Auto Leicester, L&I Eaton Sheffield and Elite Carbody in Milton Keynes have all secured a positive recommendation to transition to BS10125:2022.

Meanwhile, Coventry-based C&C Vehicle Services has also passed its BS10125:2022 Stage 2 audit.

SMMT welcomes manufacturing investment

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has welcomed the government’s £4.5bn investment in strategic manufacturing.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “This government investment reflects the fact the UK automotive sector has the talent, the innovation and the determination necessary to thrive in the face of fierce global competition. It will deliver benefits not just for the automotive sector but for the whole country in terms of growth, high value jobs and productivity. It also sends a powerful signal that the UK is open for business.”

Stellantis cuts ribbon on sustainability hub

Stellantis has unveiled its SUSTAINera Circular Economy Hub in Turin, Italy.

The Hub has been created to extend the life of parts and vehicles where possible, and recycle the materials of parts that can’t be reused.

Stellantis supports AutoRaise at recruitment festival

Stellantis supported AutoRaise at the recent National School and College Leavers Festival in Birmingham, donating vehicle parts and panels to enable the charity to better showcase the skills and opportunities within the sector.

ITAS introduces spot repair courses

ITAS has introduced a range of new courses focused on spot repairs. It recognises that new technology is making smaller repairs more commonplace and is committed to ensuring the industry has the skills to carry them out safely.

ThingCo cuts speeding events by a quarter

Telematics solutions provider ThingCo has revealed that its wireless telematics device Theo has helped cut speeding events by 25% and reduce speed on 60mph roads by six per cent.

ThingCo collects data every second and ensures precision in identifying speeding events.

Report warns of growing EV battery production gap

A report by a cross-party Committee of MPs has warned that the UK is falling behind other countries in creating an attractive environment for EV battery production.

Batteries for electric vehicles has warned that the UK faces a huge ‘gigafactory gap’, with less battery production capacity than needed for the nation’s future needs. 

JLR fights back against thefts

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) UK has reported that models built on its most advanced electrical architecture, which feature the latest security features, are proving nearly theft-proof.

Since 2020 just 0.07% of new Range Rover and new Range Rover Sports have been stolen and only 0.3% of new Defenders.

Eco Repair Systems and FMG agree training deal

Eco Repair Systems has announced a new training partnership with FMG Repair Services, which operates 65 repair sites nationwide.

As part of the deal, Eco Repair Systems will supply plastic repair equipment to FMG for use in its IMI-approved technical training centre.

VW unveils EV transition tools

Volkswagen has unveiled new digital resources to support customers transition to EVs. The three e-mobility tools provide instant data on range, charging times and running costs for each VW model.

Euro NCAP and ANCAP sign MOU

Euro NCAP and its Australian equivalent ANCAP have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cement their existing relationship and pave the way for closer collaboration in the future.

Happy first birthday

PartsXChange is celebrating its first birthday. It now has more than 400 users buying and selling new and used parts on its platform and has been nominated for three different industry awards in three different sectors.

Dean Shines in charity challenge

Dean Meadows of Shine! has so far raised more than £260 as part of the Movember challenge. He is cycling and walking 190 miles to support men’s mental health, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.

Porsche goes live with First Contact

Porsche has unveiled its new First Contact customer services solution ahead of schedule.

The objective of First Contact is for Porsche to support every customer contact in Europe itself. This required designing new processes, implementing new IT, and hiring 140 experts for its new Porsche Customer Relations Hubs.

Nissan confirms £1.2bn Sunderland investment

Nissan has confirmed it will invest about £1.2bn in its Sunderland plant to manufacture the electric Qashqai and Juke models, protecting about 6,000 jobs.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “This new announcement underlines Britain’s position as an increasingly competitive location for electric vehicle production.”

People

Repairify has appointed Richard Davis and Toby Anderson to join its team of technicians at its Luton-based technical centre of excellence.

October Market Intelligence report

ARC360 has published its latest market report in partnership with Trend Tracker, which reveals that repair volumes in October were 95% of 2019 levels but 105% compared to the same month last year.

Meanwhile, repair costs are up eight per cent year on year, but this is down from the 16% recorded in June.

JLR apologises for parts delays

Jaguar Land Rover has apologised to customers after a shortage of parts has delayed repairs to nearly 5,000 cars.

The company has downsized its UK parts supply network from 18 UK warehouses to one super centre but has experienced a crisis in parts supply since then.

Gemini celebrates Platinum status of The 5% Club

Gemini Accident Repair Group has secured Platinum Membership status in The 5% Club Employer Audit for 2023-2024.

The 5% Club recognises those employers who have committed to developing new talent through earn and learn skills training plans. Only three per cent of all members achieved Platinum status this year.

Steer recognises apprentices with dedicated awards ceremony

Steer Automotive celebrated the emerging talent within the group during a special awards ceremony dedicated to its apprentices.

The Steer Apprentice Academy Awards was attended by industry professionals and partners and included a session on the future of the automotive industry led by Dean Lander, Head of Repair Sector Services from Thatcham Research.

LV= unveils new charity initiative

LV= has raised more than £600 for its charity partner Family Action through a new initiative that also tackles the challenges around finding courtesy cars.

The LV= initiative involves its network repairers inviting customers to opt out of taking a courtesy car while their vehicle is being repaired, with the bodyshop donating at least £25 to the charity instead.

SMMT urges government to unlock CAM windfall

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has urged the government to clear the path for the UK to capitalise on a potential £66bn connected and automated mobility windfall by 2040.

In a new report, Connected and automated mobility: The UK economic and market opportunities, the SMMT also says CAM technology has the potential to create an additional 342,000 skilled jobs and prevent upwards of 60,000 serious accidents.

Premium prices spike 29% in third quarter

Motor insurance premiums have risen to £561 in the third quarter of the year, according to data from the Association of British Insurers.

This represents a 29% increase on the same period last year and is nine per cent higher than the second quarter of 2023.

New car sales hit pre-pandemic high

New car sales have hit their highest point since before the pandemic, according to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

It found that October’s new car market grew by 14.3% in the month to 153,529, which is 7.2% above pre-pandemic levels.

Meanwhile, light commercial vehicle registrations increased by 17.7% in October to 26,342 unites.

Steer expands Scotland footprint

Steer Automotive Group is expanding its presence in Scotland with the launch of a new state-of-the-art site in Glasgow.

Solera zeroes in on scope 3 emissions

Solera has unveiled a new suite of solutions, Sustainable Estimatics, to help the industry move towards a greener future.

Using its own extensive data in conjunction with a range of industry partnerships, it is able to analyse and measure the CO2 emissions during each stage of a motor claim.

SYNETIQ secures environmental silver

IAA company SYNETIQ has been awarded a silver medal by EcoVadis, an internationally-recognised sustainability platform that evaluates companies across a range of criteria, including environment, social and ethical practices.

SYNETIQ earned a silver medal after being ranked in the top 25% of more than 100,000 international businesses assessed.

IMI highlights dangerous ADAS skills gap

The Institute of the Motor Industry believes there is a now a shortfall of 18,000 technicians in the UK qualified to work on ADAS-equipped vehicles.

It warns the gap will increase as at least one in ten cars on UK roads will feature Level 2 autonomy by the end of the year, and this will grow to almost half of the car parc by 2030.

Belron named IMI TechSafe Centre of Excellence

Belron International has become the latest organisation to be named an IMI TechSafe Centre of Excellence, following significant investment in training facilities for its more than 1,100 UK technicians.

The other IMI TechSafe Centres of Excellence are the BMW Group Academy and Lincoln College.

AkzoNobel announces new Sustainability Challenge

AkzoNobel will launch a 24-hour challenge to accelerate carbon reduction in the vehicle repair industry.

Taking place from 21-22 November and involving insurance companies, fleet and lease companies, bodyshops and OEMs, the Vehicle Repair (VR) Sustainability Challenge will spark dialogue around new innovations in energy transition, process efficiency and circular solutions.

Standard successes

A number of bodyshops have achieved BS10125:2022 certification recently. They include Diss-based Bressingham Car Bodyshop, Patersons ARC, Alton Cars Sheffield, and Cosmetic Repair Solutions in Chesterfield.

Thatcham Research backs autonomous focus

Thatcham Research has backed the government’s plans to accelerate legislation around autonomous vehicles, as highlighted in His Majesty the King’s Speech.

Jonathan Hewett, Thatcham Research’s Chief Executive, said, “Thatcham Research champions stringent standards and comprehensive legislation vital for the secure and effective deployment of self-driving vehicle technology. It is through rigorous safety frameworks, clarity in legal liability, and collaborative efforts between government, industry, and insurers that the full potential of this transformative technology will be realised.”

First Hydrogen and the Potential of FCEVs

Clare Bestall and Craig Gibson from National Windscreens attended MIRA Technology Park in Coventry recently to find out more about the potential of hydrogen as a viable fuel alternative.

MIRA is Europe’s leading mobility R&D location for developing the latest automotive technology.

MONITRR reaches assessment landmark

Outsorc’s software solution MONITRR has now completed over 112,000 assessments and audits in 96 countries using five internet browsers on desktop, laptop, tablet and mobile.

Worrying research identifies EV charging cables risks

New research carried out by What Car? has revealed that some aftermarket electric vehicle charging cables could overheat and shock users.

It bought three ‘Mode 2’ chargers, which allow EV owners to charge their vehicle using a three-pin domestic socket, and found that all three failed all or some of its Residual Current Device (RCD) tests.

Meet the e2e Network

e2e Total Loss Vehicle Management has published the latest instalment of its ‘Meet the Network’ series.

The latest blog focuses on ASM Auto Recycling, which operates from five sites across Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. It processes over 35,000 vehicles a year and offers for sale over 1,500 cars, vans, and motorbikes every week via the e2e network online auction Salvage Market platform.

People

Martyn Rowley has officially taken up his new position as Executive Director at NBRA – VBRA.

Komoo has announced that Paul Halligan has joined the business as Group Compliance Manager.

Page Automotive Group has announced two internal promotions, with Neil Pettit and Scott Balson both further their careers within the group.