June 2021

JUNE 2021 AFTERMARKET 53 The survey of 1,667 UK drivers was carried out as part of a wider survey of 15,174 people across the UK, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, and was officially launched on Tuesday 27 April at the Everything EV Summit, taking place virtually from 20 to 29 April, and where CTEK’s Global Head of E-Mobility Cecilia Routledge was presenting. She said: “With previous estimates of up to 90% of EV charging taking place at home, this is a fairly significant shift, and we can expect the need for public and destination charging to intensify as the UK starts to come out of lockdown. Not only that, permanent changes to working patterns are likely to result in people visiting their workplace less often, so EV owners with nowhere to install a home chargepoint will increasingly need to rely on public chargers and those at destinations like shopping centres and supermarkets. “Some drivers say they rarely see chargepoints when out and about, and that the few they do see are nearly always either in use or out of order. In fact, some EV drivers have even gone back to a petrol vehicle because of lack of charging points, including one couple who commented in the survey that they’d tried to map out a trip to North Yorkshire using en-route charging points, but that it simply wasn’t possible.” Cecilia added: “This highlights the need for a well- planned charging network that meets the requirements of local drivers and visitors alike, that is visible and, most importantly, reliable.” A full report is available at www.ctekemobility.com Bosch: Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Awareness Training will continue to be vital as EVs and hybrids continue their progress towards mainstream acceptance. With this in mind, Bosch has launched a new EV and hybrid online training course. Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Awareness is a non-technical course suited to staff in a wide variety of roles including service managers, front-of- house, parts advisors, drivers, valeters, recovery personnel and others. The course is delivered online as a pair of two-hour modules in a virtual classroom, run by dedicated Bosch trainers. Upcoming dates currently on the slate are as follows: Friday 11 June Friday 27 August Monday 1 November For more information or to book your slot go to: www.bosch-training-solutions.com/countries.html Good things come in three Meanwhile, LKQ Euro Car Parts has invested in three hybrid vehicles, in response to growing demand for hybrid and EV training courses. Through its AutoEducation Academy, over 1,500 technicians will receive hybrid and EV repair training, with courses available at levels two, three and four. All are included in the IMI’s Tech Safe Scheme. Level two covers routine maintenance activities and terminology, while Level three builds on this with system repair and replacement training, more advanced electrical regeneration, rectification and regulation skills. Lastly, level four delves deeper into diagnostics, testing and more advanced repairs. Adam White, Workshop Solutions Director at LKQ Euro Car Parts, observed: “The government’s deadline on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles is less than nine years away, and many manufacturers are setting themselves more ambitious targets between now and then. With only 5% of technicians currently trained on hybrid and electric vehicles, now is the time for the rest to catch up.” He added: “Our AutoEducation Academy gives technicians the skills and knowledge they need to take advantage of this key revenue stream and run successful businesses, now and in the future. Hybrids are already relatively common in the independent aftermarket and it won’t be long before EVs are too.” For more information, visit www.autoeducationacademy.com Vibration As the sales of electric and hybrid cars to continues to grow, garages need to be kitted out and staff trained up order to face new servicing challenges This we know. While a great degree of the focus is on the electronic architecture of these vehicles, garages should also consider new challenges associated with traditional components. Commenting on overcoming EV vibrations, and the NVH conundrum, Pro-Align CEO Clive Seabrook, CEO said: “As part of the EV revolution, workshops will undoubtedly see more customers who have concerns about vibration issues. Replacing an internal combustion engine with an electronic drivetrain means that drivers will be much more aware of other vibrations, such as those from wheel and tyre assemblies, that would previously have been masked by those coming from the engine. Consequently, workshops need to prepare for this with equipment that can diagnose and solve these issues efficiently and effectively. The solution is the Hunter Road Force Elite (RFE) diagnostic wheel balancer as traditional wheel balancers are unable to solve the most challenging and subtle of wheel vibration issues other than by trial and error alone.” Unique Clive continued: “Adopting a unique diagnostic approach, the RFE can provide a fast, first-time fix to any wheel- vibration problems, even doing so in less time than a standard wheel balancer. The RFE differs from standard balancers as it measures tyre forces known as Road Force Variation (RFV) and Lateral Force (LF) to conduct a full diagnostic of the wheel and tyre assembly. It does this by scanning the wheel rim and applying a load via a roller to take the wheel and tyre assembly on a simulated road test. Once RFV is identified, the balancer provides a ‘Force Matching’ recommendation which matches the stiff spot on the tyre with the low spot on the wheel rim, minimising any vibrations to give a smoother ride. Where LF is identified due to conicity of the tyres, the RFE even advises of the best position on the vehicle to counteract it for a straighter drive.” Clive added: “Undoubtedly, motorists are going to become more demanding of workshops with regard to wheel vibration issues. Of course, this isn’t exclusively an EV issue as ride quality continues to improve on all cars. Thankfully though, we’re delighted that once again, the insightful engineers at Hunter have been among the first to identify this future problem and develop a solution that will help workshops provide their customers with the very best levels of service.”