July/August 2020

JULY/AUGUST 2020 AFTERMARKET 5 www.aftermarketonline.net Top Garage 2020 is continuing to roll, with those businesses still in the running now on for a photo finish at the finals, which are set to take place on Saturday 17 October. While COVID-19 did cause a pause in the competition programme, it was a hiatus that many garages shared. Some will have used the time to push ahead with redecoration plans. With this in mind, we have asked the contestants to provide a visual record of their business in the form of a video or photo essay. Following this stage, mystery shopping will also be taking place so we can find out if customer service matches the presented image. For those of you who want to see Top Garage and Top Technician 2020 through to their fantastic conclusions, you still have the chance to be at the Top Technician and Top Garage Awards Dinner 2020, now taking place on Saturday 17 October at the Jurys Inn Milton Keynes. Not only will you be among the first to discover who has won Top Technician and Top Garage 2020, but you will have a fab evening in fantastic company. As well as a great night out, you get to hear James Dillon speak, and experience the comedy of Gary Marshall. Top Technician and Top Garage have been changing lives since 2002. You can change yours by making yourself part of this brilliant event. Individual places are £70. Full tables are available for £650. To book, go to toptechnicianawards.co.uk Make sure you keep an eye on www.toptechnicianonline.co.uk and Aftermarket magazine, as well as Aftermarket’s regular newsletter for updates. Top Technician 2020 and Top Garage 2020 are sponsored by Snap-on, Varta, TechMan and LKQ Euro Car Parts, and come to you in association with ABC Awards, ADS, the Garage Equipment Association (GEA), the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) and the Independent Garage Association (IGA). EV infrastructure: Mixed picture Garages with an eye on the electric vehicle future may want to consider if the local infrastructure could support major motorist take-up. New research shows that Bristol, Milton Keynes, Dundee, Oxford and Brighton & Hove are the UK towns and cities with the highest current ratio of EVs to charging points. Conversely, Hull, Bradford, Wakefield, Preston and Leicester at present have the lowest. The research, from comparison site Uswitch.com, found that this last group, that also includes Stoke-on-Trent, Southend and Birmingham are among the cities that could benefit most from the Government’s £500 million Rapid Charging Fund. The funding, revealed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps in May, suggests that 2,500 rapid charging stations could be installed across England by 2030, rising to 6,000 by 2035. For full details of Uswitch.com’s ‘Electric Nation’ research, visit https://www.uswitch.com/gas- electricity/electric-nation/ Top Garage 2020: Looking to be a photo finish? Follow us on Facebook: @aftermarketmagazine Sponsored by: