February 2020

www.aftermarketonline.net FEBRUARY 2020 AFTERMARKET 3 CONTENTS BUSINESS 8 Big issue: Women in the motor sector 12 Adam Bernstein: The FOS; Part two 14 Neil Pattemore: The connected car 16 Andy Savva: Customer complaints 20 Business advice TECHNICAL 22 Matt Heale: Vehicle electrification 24 Gareth Banks: Tyres; Part three 26 John Batten: 60mins into £500k 28 Frank Massey: VW van vibes 30 Neil Currie: No codes, no clues? 32 Darren Darling: Code conundrum IN FOCUS 34 Top Garage 2020: Cedar Garage 36 Diesel 39 Brakes 42 Batteries 44 MOT PLUS... 46 General products 47 Competition: First Line 48 On the road: IAAF Conference 52 Training: Delphi Technologies 54 Training update 56 Recruitment – New appointments 58 Teabreak THE SHOCK OF THE NEW Editor | Alex Wells alex@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 345 Contributors John Batten | Gareth Banks | Adam Berstein | Neil Currie | Darren Darling | Frank Massey | Neil Pattemore | Andy Savva Commercial Director | Ryan Fuller ryan.fuller@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Sales Executive | Hannah Rusbridge hannah@aftermarket.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 349 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 | Clare Jackson clare.jackson@dfamedia.co.uk | +44 (0) 1732 370 340 Publishing Director | 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 2018 to June 2019 20,019 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 2018. W hether or not 2020 counts as the start of a new decade or not (apparently it doesn’t, that happens next year), one thing is certain; we are all going to have to get used to writing the year starting with a two. That’s about all that is certain. As I say with annoying regularity at this point in the mag, “as Aftermarket went to press, the UK was due to leave the European Union on <INSERT DATE HERE>…” Well, so far as we know today, that is still due to happen on 31 January, but we have been here before, so we will leave it there. So what else is uncertain? Ooh, let’s see. Shall we try the future shape of the car parc? Diesel sales were down 21.8% in 2019, compare with 2018, according to the SMMT. While EVs and hybrids seem to be shooting up in popularity, actual sales are still quite small, so what does that tell you? On top of that, the shape of the aftermarket shifted quite radically during the previous decade, with a lot of consolidation among suppliers. If this continues, how much choice will you have when it comes to sourcing parts? Then again if EV and hybrid sales are all they say they will be, will you even be buying that many parts? In the end, only time will tell. All we can do is keep telling you what’s going on, and try to keep you properly informed so you can make the right decisions for your business. Back to the day-to-day. First thing, both Top Technician and Top Garage 2020 have got to the end of their respective first rounds. Thanks to everyone who took part. If you got through, well done! Keep an eye on everything via www.toptechnicianonline.co.uk . That also applies if you are not still in the running you know. There is also the matter of the Top Technician and Top Garage Awards Evening, taking place on Saturday 20 June. You want to be there. Onto the rest of the issue. Notice something about most of your co-workers? Yes, that’s right, most of them are men, even in the midst of an ongoing skills shortage. On pages 8-11 we are asking some women in the industry how they see it, and what we can do to encourage more to come in. Then there’s technical. Frank Massey had a vibrating van that needed his attention, so turn to pages 28-29 for that. On page 32, Darren Darling has a code conundrum, while for Neil Currie on pages 30 and 31 the issue is no codes at all. Gareth Banks is continuing his tyres takedown on page 24, while on pages 22-23 we hear from Maclaren Automotive’s Matt Heale. He is talking about vehicle electrification and its impact on the sector. On the business side, Andy Savva is looking at how to address customer complaints. That is on pages 16-17. Just in front of him on pages 14-15, Neil Pattemore is explaining why connected car concept is bad news for the independent aftermarket. Getting out and about, on pages 52-53, you can find out what happened when I took the EV and hybrid course being run by Delphi Technologies. Spoiler alert – I survived! If that’s not enough for you, we also have a rundown on the IAAF conference from the end of last year, the latest on diesel, brakes, batteries and chargers and the MOT, plus a competition with a fab prize from First Line. Enjoy! Editor