Trend Tracker data suggests ‘a similar amount of work is being completed by more sites’ following reports from some bodyshops of a significant drop in the number of notifications.
In its summary, based on data and insight as of April 2024, Trend Tracker highlights the greatest impact felt within the market is most likely due to new capacity with circa 150 new repair sites developed year-to-date in 2024, which together with reduced lead times has created new capacity.
Paul Sell, Director of Trend Tracker, explained: “This very topic has been discussed in the last two months, across the industry, with March volumes being much lower than expected, but April bounced back.
“2024 YTD (April) has seen two per cent more repairs than the same period in 2023, so very similar volumes, but with a very different pattern, for example: fewer working days in March 2024 which was a contributor to less repairs.”
However, Paul suggests there are many factors at play which Trend Tracker is watching carefully – insurance costs, excess values, age of car parc, number of cars on road, retail repair demand, total loss trends and, of course, new capacity in the market.
Paul continued, “It is possible that there is some ‘customer behaviour’ patterns at play with insurance costs and excess values being higher, but there are no less cars on the road and people are not driving less, so by default there shouldn’t be less accidents.
“There is though: an older car parc, a higher write-off rate of EVs which represent more of the car parc than last year, and a cost-of-living crisis hangover which may mean customers could live with some damage, or seek to get retail work done.”
“The greatest impact must be new capacity with Trend Tracker reporting in the last report c150 new sites YTD in 2024, which together with reducing lead times has created new capacity.”
An ARC360 Think Tank recently discussed the issue of changing repair volumes, to read more thoughts and opinions on the subject click here.
