112021

is first to market with electrification, so we will make sure we have parts available, and that we provide training to the technicians. We will make sure we can provide the necessary equipment to the garages so they can take care of hybrid and electric vehicles. “ Application Back to the app mentioned earlier, Aftermarket asked if this is coming soon, or whether it is just a concept still. Arnd commented: “We are certainly at the ideas stage, but it will depend on how we can motivate and excite partners to work with us. Beyond vehicle service and repair, there is a lot of opportunity to connect to other vehicle-based services through a basic data platform. To connect those services, we need partners in those respective areas, whether it is roadside assistance, or whether it is in other areas.” He concluded: “In the next few months we will talk more about this, and the potential first move on market for such an application, and then see how much progress we can make. The story has started, and you never know how far it goes. In our view it would be great if we could take that journey and be successful with it.” NOVEMBER 2021 AFTERMARKET 57 www.aftermarketonline.net in the future,” said Arnd, “the digital native. The company is reaching out with 1,000 branches to more than 100,000 garages and potentially more than 100 million vehicles that are repaired and serviced in those workshops.” This necessitates changing the way businesses communicate: “Reaching out to those consumers may put us into a position to offer customer access to many people offering services that cover the whole automotive sphere. That could be repair services, our home turf, or parking and charging, roadside assistance, tracking the history of the vehicle, repair and servicing, collision or other data. In the end, we can create one app, one place to share data for everything.” More on this later. Arnd added: “LKQ is moving its approach to utilise its scale here in Europe to do things other platforms and other companies can’t do. Therefore, it is a great opportunity for our customers to apply digital solutions that are to a large extent, co-developed here.” Digital heart Next, LKQ Europe CFO Europe Yanik Cantieni made a number of observations: “Today we live in a fast- paced changing world driven by globalisation and digitisation. For this reason, we aim to transform our business by benefitting from new technologies and explore new and different ways of collaboration for our customers. With the LKQ Innovation and Service Centre, LKQ Europe inserts a digital heart in one of its key growth markets, to drive customer-centric- driven solutions for the whole of Europe. “Developing and testing advanced offerings for customers of the entire LKQ Europe organisation, the new facility in Katowice will be a catalyst for innovation and digitisation strategy. In addition to this, it will increase our business efficiency and realise significant cost savings by digitalising, streamlining and standardising internal and administrative processes in one location here in Europe. This will accelerate our digital transformation and prepare us for the aftermarket of the future. The new Katowice facility comes in addition to the centres LKQ has already very successfully established in Bangalore, India, where we today have more than 900 colleagues and growing. All LKQ European countries will be using the innovative strength of the new LKQ Innovation and Service Centre to bundle tasks. With Katowice and Bangalore working hand-in-hand, LKQ will be able to develop future technologies, to establish more innovative services for customers.” Circular economy Prior to the ribbon-cutting by Katowice Mayor Marcin Krupa, Arnd Franz took questions. Asked about the importance of the circular economy, he observed: “The circular economy is not a nice-to-have. The circular economy is a must-have. We can’t just continue digging things out of the ground, melting and assembling, and then putting things in landfill. This is not our idea of sustainability. In the U.S we buy around 800,000 vehicles per year and we then take them to our salvage centres. More than 90% of the materials that we recover – not only raw materials but also components – become part of another vehicle. That is great for the environment, and that’s great for the consumer choice. In Europe we are dismantling between 20,000 and 30,000 vehicles, just in Scandinavia. We believe there is room for that business model.” On the application of the circular model to EVs, where growth is exponential, he said: “EV battery technology is evolving fast. If you need a battery in 10 years from now, even if the OEMs want to provide that same battery, it won’t be around. There are a ton of questions, and we believe one part of the answer will be battery repair and remanufacturing. Therefore, it is up to the OEMs to design batteries to be repaired and remanufactured. Certainly, from the European perspective, we want all the raw materials to go back into the cycle. Those three Rs – repair, remanufacture and recycle will be a key part of the circular economy. For the independent aftermarket I believe it is going to take a long time, until 2028, for the batteries to start coming back. The OEMs will have to take care of them through the warranties. LKQ is willing to be part of the solution. Our slogan Beyond vehicle service and repair, there is a lot of opportunity to connect to other vehicle-based services ” Above: LKQ Europe CFO Europe Yanik Cantieni