Aftermarket December/January 2023

T he widespread deployment of ADAS on vehicles means that garages need to re-think how they work on cars that enter the workshop, as Absolute Alignment Technical Director Chris Dear noted: “It is all too easy to simply do the tracking as has been done for years, but without being able to check the effect of adjustments on crucial ADAS settings it may leave a workshop open to investigation in the event of a subsequent accident involving a vehicle they have worked on. Investment in a wheel aligner that integrates with ADAS calibration equipment will help eliminate the risk, and best practice for wheel alignment will soon include working with any ADAS present. Here is a business opportunity as well as a challenge – astute workshops will be promoting their ADAS skills and turning them into a new income stream.” Training vis vital though: “ADAS knowledge is not 44 AFTERMARKET DECEMBER/JANUARY 2023 ADAS www.aftermarketonline.net Garages without the knowledge and kit for working on ADAS systems will be missing out on a major income stream something picked up along the way. It is specialist knowledge that must be delivered by experts in the field, preferably with a recognised qualification or certificate at the end of it.” For more information, visit: www.absolutealignment.co.uk Complete recalibration Julian Goulding, Northern Europe Marketing Manager at Delphi Technologies Aftermarket, said: “ADAS is here to stay, and motorists will be keen for local independents to offer a more cost-effective alternative to ADAS recalibration than that from a franchised dealer. There’s also the likelihood that they can pick up such work due to main dealers being at full capacity and having long lead times. It’s thought that just 5% of UK independents currently offer ADAS recalibration, meaning there’s huge potential for garages who wish to move with the times, expand their services and embrace the opportunity. Above: MAHLE’s digital ADAS system can allow garages to make a complete camera calibration from start to finish in five minutes DETECTING THE OPPORTUNITY