September 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 AFTERMARKET 11 make the UK a hub for green transport technology and innovation, However, there seems to be much reliance on the development of new technology and while new 'green' innovation will no doubt continue to materialise over the coming years, the government still needs to focus on how the UK's power grid infrastructure will deliver the extra power required to deliver these ambitious plans without reliance on fossil fuels. Otherwise, we run the risk of stalling when we should instead be putting our foot on the accelerator." Detail Also commenting, NFDA Director Sue Robinson said: "Franchised vehicle dealers have been making significant investments both improving their infrastructure and adapting processes to meet the fast-growing consumer demand for electrified vehicles and embrace the transition to zero emission transportation. Retailers will continue to play a crucial role during this transition enabling their customers to switch to greener vehicles by informing them about all the benefits of owning an EV.” She added: “However, it is imperative that motorists are supported through a range of incentives to ensure that they do not hold on to their old vehicles. In particular, we must ensure improvements to the current infrastructure are adequate and representative of geographical differences.” While he noted a lack of detail coming from government, IAAF Chief Executive Mark Field believed that the automotive aftermarket as a whole is more than up to the challenge posed by decarbonisation: “The Transport Decarbonisation Plan makes a number of ambitious announcements but there is little detail into how these will be achieved, both from an infrastructure and cost point of view. While the aftermarket and vehicle manufacturers await further clarity, it is evident that the direction of travel is towards a greener automotive, rail, aviation and marine sector.” He added: “It is therefore encouraging to see so many suppliers, motor factors and garages embrace new vehicle technologies such as EV and hybrid, raising standards and continuing to be the provider of choice for vehicle service and repair to motorists.” Serious risk According to Steve Scofield, Head of Business Development at the IMI, the government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan overlooks the key issue of training for those working on vehicles: “The mission of the government’s plan must be welcomed. It is right that there is a clear focus to ensure the UK can meet its zero emissions objectives, but, disappointingly, yet again the issue of skills to support an electric motoring population is just not evident. “Our recently published analysis found that by the end of 2020 only 6.5% of the automotive sector was EV ready, underlining the gaping chasm in the proportion of the automotive sector skilled to work on electric vehicles. This deficit presents a serious risk to consumer confidence in wide-scale adoption of zero emission motoring, and a serious threat to the government’s ambitions. “The recent House of Commons Public Accounts Committee report into the transition to zero emission vehicles highlighted the need to train and retrain the workforce required to service the new car fleet, but highlighting the need and actually committing to investment in the upskilling required are two very different things - and no clear commitment by government to support the training is disappointing. The ramp-up plan for all those who are likely to work on electric vehicles – from service and repair technicians to those working in the roadside recovery and blue light sectors – must be addressed as a matter of urgency. And that means some of that £12bn investment promised by the Prime Minister needs to be put towards skills training.” Steve added: “The IMI TechSafe standards, endorsed by OZEV at the end of 2019, mean that electrified vehicle users can access the IMI Professional Register to check the electric vehicle technical competencies of technicians at their local garage, but the new IMI data shows that the sector is currently a long way off achieving a critical mass of technicians qualified.” Final thoughts Over the last few years, the government has set itself a number of major targets around environmental and emissions issues relating to motor vehicles. This distillation of its intentions again shows that the aim is high, even if some of the targets are being eased back. That said, the sector does keep pointing out that to meet the goals of what they now refer to as decarbonised transport, significant investment will be needed. This does not just mean infrastructure though, it means training people as well, and enabling businesses to be able to offer that training. The government needs to engage fully with a number of sectors, including the automotive aftermarket, to make sure these goals can be achieved. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 )4 -*/)+ *-3. /,324 -.-*/)+ /0/2 /*-)//. ) Y AWA + /30/23 //-3 3 23 23 / // */) 432 03 /0*.) . 23/.2/23 3/)**2/ /,/0 , 23-* , 4 , 2/ .- 3 +*)) ('&%$ #"' '!& -,3 *).0/ 3 / )0) 2. *- 3