Aftermarket March 2023

MONTH 2017 AFTERMARKET 5 MARCH 20 3 AFTERMARKET 51 diagnosing live high voltage systems including high voltage battery repairs from different manufacturers.” For more information, visit: www.delphiautoparts.com/gbr/en/training/training Powering mobility Training needs to take place on a mass scale for the growing wave of EVs. A report by the Social Market Foundation (SMF), ‘A Vehicle for Change’, recently explored the main issues around the challenge of upskilling mechanics so the industry is able to repair and maintain EVs. IAAF Chief Executive Mark Field observed: “A key finding in the SMF’s report shows that while there is currently a healthy number of experienced and qualified technicians able to work on EVs across the sector, in 2024 the number of technicians required to meet EV demand is expected to soar, creating a significant skills gap by 2027. The report’s recommendations included suggesting the launch of a green careers campaign to target young people and those from under-represented backgrounds and promote the opportunities within the vehicle repair sector, primarily in EVs, and develop a medium-term credible plan to upskill technicians for EVs.” Looking at infrastructure, Mark commented: “When the government announced the ban of all new conventional petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2030, the blueprint for what was to follow was never really laid bare. Replacing the internal combustion engine, that has powered vehicles for over a hundred years, was never going to be easy. We’ve seen white papers on proposed decarbonisation strategies that offer little more than a utopian view, unrealistic for much of the population. And with three governments in 2022, the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the cost-of-living crisis, the UK appears some way off being able to make concrete plans for the future of mobility. Regarding energy usage, in January, then Secretary of State for Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, told Parliament that ‘we’re going to be requiring up to four times as much electricity’ to meet demand for electrified heating and transport. Many analysts fear the national grid will not be able to generate enough electricity.” This is set against the backdrop of growing EV sales in what has been a retracting overall new car market: “Across the whole of 2022, 1.6 million new cars were registered in the UK, the lowest level since 1992, with the EV share of this increasing from 11.6%, to 16.6%. Of used car sales, while rising, the electric vehicle share is still remotely small, with just over 14,500 used EV sales in the first quarter of 2022. Despite the meteoric rise in the uptake of EVs relative to new car sales, pure EVs only make up 1.3% of the 34 million cars on UK roads, so it’s not only surprising that it gets so much attention but it’s even more baffling that it now gets such a hard time. Mark concluded: “It’s clear that work still needs to be done to set out a clear way forward. EVs are clearly a big part of the picture as the world adjusts and finds its footing on a path to severely reducing harmful emissions. As we begin to unpick the strands of the EV situation and consider the alternative technologies that begin to come forward, is a total ban on ICE-powered vehicle sales in 2030 still the right move to make? There are more sustainable and cleaner ways of powering mobility than solely EV throughout an entire production cycle, so these must be part of the plan.” www.aftermarketonline.net Above: Hunter Road Force Elite (RFE) diagnostic wheel balancer, from Pro-Align