April 2019

APRIL 2019 AFTERMARKET 7 Nearly half of UK garages have sourced alternative, UK based suppliers ahead of Brexit on Friday 29 March, according to new research. WhoCanFixMyCar.com surveyed its network of independent garages and found that 45.3% of businesses asked were actively seeking new, British suppliers WhoCanFixMyCar.com also found that around one in six garages have been stockpiling parts ahead of the UK’s departure from the EU. The survey also revealed that 52.3% of garages believed that there will be an increase in labour costs after Brexit, with 61.5% believing more customers will ignore required repairs for longer due to perceived/expected cost increases. 51.4% also said they believe parts will become more expensive after Brexit. Meanwhile, 42.3% expect Brexit to impact parts availability in the UK. More than half of respondents also said that they’d made an effort to confirm agreements with current suppliers amidst uncertainty. Al Preston, co-founder of WhoCanFixMyCar.com, said: “The garage and repair industry is truly global, and many OEM parts are only manufactured outside of the UK. With the news that companies such as Honda and Nissan have closed factories to move production elsewhere, it only fuels worry for garage owners. However, it’s good to see so many taking precautions pre-Brexit, as I’m sure this can’t be said for all industries.” TRICO partners with Marathon TRICO has partnered with Marathon Warehouse Distribution, enabling motor factors to have same-day access to products from the TRICO Flex & Exact Fit ranges. Marathon’s electronic trading platform, EMPOWER, provides factors with live pricing and availability information, combined with online ordering, cataloguing and many other useful features. TRICO Senior Product and Brand Manager Sam Robinson said: “We are delighted that Marathon will be distributing our industry leading Flex and Exact Fit wiping programmes to motor factors and accessory shops across the UK, who will now have fast access to our products. We also look forward to engaging with factors offering marketing and training support.” Colin Fisher, Marathon’s Sales and Marketing Director, said: “The TRICO brand and wiping programme is a great addition to our ever expanding product range. TRICO has always been a huge name in wiping, being a specialist manufacturer and OE supplier of these products for over 100 years.” Garages approach Brexit through alternate sourcing The IAAF has welcomed a report by the European Parliament, urgently calling for legislation regarding access to in-vehicle data to be in place by January 2020. The TRAN Committee (Transport and Tourism) of the European Parliament has adopted its own initiative report on Autonomous Driving in European Transport 2018/2089(INI), in response to the Commission’s paper ‘On the road to automated mobility: An EU strategy for mobility of the future’. The Parliament’s report stressed the need to establish a robust regulatory system on the use of in- vehicle data before January 2020. This is also in line with the Parliament‘s Report on C-ITS published on 13 March 2018, which called on the Commission to publish a legislative proposal on access to in-vehicle data and resources. A recent study by Bertin Martens of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre and Dr Christian Knobloch who carried out practical tests on data access, found that the Extended Vehicle (ExVe) is not widely implemented across VMs. IAAF Chief Executive Wendy Williamson said: “Along with FIGIEFA and the many other European industry bodies fighting for equal access, we too call upon the Commission to act upon its recommendation – as part of the Third Mobility Package published last May – to include guidance into the planned Recommendation on “5G, cybersecurity and data governance framework” and to deliver – also in line with the Parliament‘s Report on C-ITS - a concrete work programme leading to a legal framework enabling equal competition in digital services.” IAAF welcomes call for robust ExVe regulation