FEBRUARY 2024 AFTERMARKET 23 www.aftermarketonline.net COP28: WWF urges shift to clean fuel now Against the backdrop of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) emphasised that oil, coal and gas use is the “main driver” of climate change. It urged leaders to agree a plan to phase out fossil fuels and “move towards more efficient, sustainable, renewable energy now”. Clearly, this doesn’t sit comfortably with the decision to push new petrol and diesel car sales back to 2035. However, there are some encouraging signs. According to Zap Map, there are currently around 50,000 points across the UK, up 43% in just 12 months. Serious advances are being made on recharging times too, with BP claiming its new Pulse 150kw charger can deliver up to 100-miles-worth of juice in around 15 minutes. Then there’s hydrogen, with Toyota making great play of the fact that its hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (HFCEV) Mirai emits only water vapour. Transport & Environment (T&E), Europe’s leading NGO campaigning for cleaner transport, has produced a handy chart detailing why direct electrification is “by far” the best technology. Matt Finch, UK Policy Manager at T&E, said: “By 2050, the vast majority of cars in the UK will be 100% battery electric. Using electricity is dirt cheap compared to burning oil, biofuel or hydrogen. That’s the main reason everyone will switch.” Follow us on Facebook: @aftermarketmagazine Aside from the inaugural Self-driving Industry Vehicle of the Year prize going to CAVForth, and Alex Wells receiving welldeserved recognition, Aftermarket readers will be most interested in the winner of the Aftermarket Award: Jifeline. Presented by Carsofthefuture.co.uk, the Selfdriving Industry Awards celebrate excellence in connected and automated mobility (CAM), in the UK and internationally. The judges said: “Jifeline offer a compelling proposition in the world of remote diagnostics – the ability to outsource coding and programming jobs to any one of 120+ partners across 25 European countries. A real solution to the skills shortage which also delivers significant carbon savings.” For context, The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) research paper, Meeting The Demand For Skilled Vehicle Technicians, made national headlines predicting that the sector will require 106,000 ADAS-qualified technicians by 2030. It forecast that 44% of the UK car parc will have Level 2 autonomy by 2030, with features such as adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane keeping assistance (LKA) becoming standard. It also estimated that there were only around 3,000 UK-based ADAS-qualified technicians at the end of 2022. Quite a challenge then, and there’s broad agreement that remote diagnostics will be part of the solution. Formed in the Netherlands in 2012, Jifeline won the Automechanika Innovation Award in 2018. European Business Development Director Richard Taylor, formerly of LKQ, explained: “Right now, the biggest holdup is generally in parts supply rather than ADAS skills, but 2030 isn’t far away and the training issue will become ever more pressing. “By connecting our J-ReX tool via the OBD, you open the door to our fast-growing technical ecosystem. We have partners in 25+ countries with over 15,000 customers and over 350 technicians between them. “Whether it’s a common job like a bumper sensor calibration, or something more complicated, you can outsource it to a specialist anywhere in Europe. “If a bodyshop has an amazing BMW expert, but they only generally do a few BMW jobs a day, that’s not really sweating their asset. By plugging into Jifeline, that technician could be receiving BMW jobs all day long, from anywhere, Brighton to Belgrade. “We liken our model to an old-fashioned telephone exchange, with the ability to plug into hundreds of different partners. Collaboration really is the key to solving this skills issue. “Our ecosystem approach is industry-wide, including partners from the VM side and independent repairers. Remote diagnosis has so many advantages. It can save repairers having to physically take cars to a local dealer, or getting a mobile specialist in.” Self-driving Industry Aftermarket Award Winner is Jifeline We have a range of print and online advertising opportunities available. For more details and our latest Media Pack please contact Angela Lyus. Angela Lyus | Head of Sales +44 (0) 7823 736629 | anglea@aftermarket.co.uk www.aftermarketonline.net
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