Diagnostics 32 www.aftermarketonline.net JUNE 2026 AI-ding the technicians of tomorrow The automotive aftermarket is one of the few sectors that doesn’t appear to be facing an imminent takeover brought about by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). It’s hard to consider a future where AI is replacing brakes discs on a customer’s vehicle, performing an oil and filter service or replacing a timing belt. These are areas that require the experience, skills and the careful handling of a qualified technician. But there are other uses for the technology that can positively impact an independent garage. Oscar Diaz, CEO of TOPDON Europe, introduces one. The UK aftermarket has long relied on apprenticeships, structured training, and hands-on workshop experience to develop skilled automotive technicians. But workshops today are operating in a fundamentally different environment, one defined by tighter margins, rapidly evolving vehicle technologies, and diagnostic processes that demand engagement with evergrowing volumes of technical data. The pressure is already showing. According to ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Talent Shortage Survey, 92% of UK automotive employers report being unable to find the skilled talent they need ¬– nearly 20 percentage points above the national average. The IMI puts current motor trade vacancies at around 13,000, with just 24% of the existing technician workforce qualified to work on electric vehicles, and fewer than 3,000 trained in ADAS calibration against a projected industry need of 106,000 within seven years. So where do you go for skills when they simply don’t exist? Increasingly, independent workshops are turning towards AI tools. Rather than waiting for a qualified technician to become available – or investing months in training that may not keep pace with the vehicles already on the ramp – workshops are exploring technology that can surface diagnostic guidance, interpret technical data, and support decision-making in real time. It’s a pragmatic response to a structural problem: not a replacement for expertise, but a way of extending the capability that already exists on the workshop floor. Imagine life with an AI assistant TopFix AI, an artificial intelligence assistant built into TOPDON’s diagnostic platform, is one example of how AI can support the technician role. Rather than requiring technicians to manually search through technical databases, it analyses vehicle type and detected fault data, cross-referencing official technical service bulletins (TSBs) from the relevant manufacturer to surface the most likely causes quickly. Trained on real diagnostic cases and OEM data, it guides technicians through fault resolution processes that would traditionally demand years of accumulated experience. Crucially, TopFix AI doesn’t make diagnostic decisions. The technician remains in control throughout. Instead, the tool acts as an informed assistant, compressing the time it takes to reach the right information rather than bypassing the judgement needed to act on it. For experienced technicians, the value of AI tools like this is straightforward: less time spent hunting through documentation means more time on the job itself. In a workshop running multiple bays simultaneously, that efficiency quickly adds up. But the more significant Oscar Diaz is CEO of TOPDON Europe.
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