September 2021

www.aftermarketonline.net SEPTEMBER 2021 AFTERMARKET 3 CONTENTS BUSINESS 8 Big issue: Decarbonisation 12 Rebecca Pullan: Tyre-d 14 MRS Electronics: Driving change 16 Q&A: Teng Tools 18 Preparing for the MOT wave 20 LKQ Euro Car Parts: Round-table TOP TECHNICIAN/TOP GARAGE 22 Top Tech semi-finalist is EV champ 26 VARTA: Test every battery TECHNICAL 28 Frank Massey: Ignition diagnostics: Part one 30 Bosch: Safety means brake checks 32 Snap-on: Fuel pump progress 34 Neil Currie: Renegade Master 38 Kalimex: Fighting fit 40 Banner Batteries: Bright future IN FOCUS 42 Lighting 44 Ignition 46 Bearings 48 EVs and hybrids 52 Online tools and management systems PLUS... 56 General products/Competition 58 Coronavirus round-up 60 On the road: Motul racing 62 Training update 66 Teabreak SUMMER’S ALMOST GONE Editor | Alex Wells alex@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 345 Contributors Damien Coleman | Neil Currie | Günther Dörgeloh | Frank Massey | Anthony McAteer | Rebecca Pullan | Noel Sheppard | Mike Schlup Sales Manager | Daniella Gavin Daniella@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 349 Managing Director | Ryan Fuller ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Operations Manager | Ewa Hodden ewa.hodden@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Project Liaison Manager | Emma Floyd emma.floyd@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Finance Manager | Caren Brown caren.brown@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Chief Executive | Ian Atkinson ian.atkinson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Published by | DFA Media Ltd 192 High Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1BE Alex Wells, Editor Average net circulation July 2019 to June 2020 23,616 aftermarketmagazine @aftermarket01 ISSN 2516-9149 Aftermarket is published 10 times a year and is sent free of charge to applicants meeting the publisher’s criteria. All others may subscribe at £60 per anum, £120 Europe and £150 rest of the world. While every care is taken to provide accurate information, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or ommisions, no matter how caused. All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior consent of the publisher. The views of contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Copyright: DFA MEDIA LTD 2021. S ummer is generally seen as a quieter time, and even more so this year. For garages, MOTs have shifted en masse from the warmer months into the Autumn and Winter as a consequence of the 2020 MOT exemption. For forward-looking businesses, this means they have spent the last few months preparing, training and investing, as they are likely to be swamped between now and Christmas. With this in mind, Anthony McAteer, Trading Director at LKQ Euro Car Parts has some suggestions on how garages can adapt to the new MOT pattern. You will find that on page 18. While Coronavirus has dominated our consciousness over the last 18 months, the question of how to continue to work with Europe, as well as work in and around EU legislation, and then work past it when it expires, has not gone away. During the Summer, the IAAF teamed up with a pan-continental coalition, including FIGIEFA, to call on the EU to allow access for independent garages when legislating on in-vehicle data. Meanwhile, back with LKQ Euro Car Parts again, the company called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to explain its plans for what will replace the EU’s Block Exemption Regulation in the UK when the existing agreement expires in 2023. CEO Andy Hamilton referred the lack of clarity as posing an “existential threat” to garages. You can read about these issues and more in News on pages 4-7. If all of that’s not enough. As this issue was going to press, the UN-backed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published what amounted to the largest ever report into climate change. The UK is pledging to do its part, and with this in mind was already looking to decarbonise road transport by 2050. In Big Issue on pages 8-11 we examine the response to these measures from the automotive sector. What else is going on in the issue though? Well, with the Top Technician semi- final taking place in the first weekend of September, we find out more about how one of those 15 people achieved a little bit extra recently. Turn to pages 22-23 to find out more. Staying within the orbit of Top Technician and Top Garage, we hear from sponsors VARTA on how battery testing is definitely the way to go. You’ll find that on pages 26-27. On pages 28-29, Frank Massey is taking us on a two-part journey into ignition diagnostics. Next on page 30, Bosch explains how brake testing should be routine in your workshop. Then, on pages 32-33 Damien Coleman from Snap-on is looking at how technological change is leading to new developments in the engine. Following that, check out 2019 Top Technician champ Neil Currie’s piece looking at a problematic Renault Master on pages 34-37. Still want more? Try our piece from Banner Batteries looking at the future for lead-acid batteries on pages 40-41. Meanwhile, you’ll find our first On The Road piece in what feels like an age on pages 60-61. I went to the Silverstone Classic with Official Lubricant Partner Motul. It’s hard life, I know… On top of that we have all the regulars, along with features on lighting, bearings, ignition, EVs and hybrids and online tools and management systems. There’s even an exclusive competition with TechMan on page 56.