Firstly best wishes for all our readers for Christmas and the festive season and all the best for 2022 – surely it has to be better than 2020 and 2021 (Mind you we said that this time last year and see where that got us!)
The motor repair industry is more fortunate than some as they can at least trade semi-normally at Level 3 and benefit from some pent-up demand. But even when trading there are challenges around spare parts availability with all the shipping issues, high demand for staff making filling vacancies difficult and having to deal with customers that are more stressed than usual.
Putting aside the “minor” challenges of life in a pandemic there are all the usual challenges with increasing technology being added even to entry level vehicles, which means there is a need for constant learning and training, not to mention upgrading specialist equipment. The growth of EV and hybrid vehicles adds more complexity and whilst the numbers are still not large, over the next few years workshops will need to make sure they are setup and trained to deal with them, not to mention the fact that as EV’s proliferate the amount of servicing will start to reduce as there is less to repair.
Hope you all get a chance to kick back and relax over the holidays and come back refreshed in January.
Meri Kirihimete