Repair and servicing sector still ill-equipped for “monumental” EV switch, IMI warns

Date: Wednesday 25 November 2020

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A failure to properly support the servicing and repair sector will compromise the government’s ambitious plans to end the sale of all new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has suggested and warns that the implications for the automotive industry are “monumental”.

Hybrid technology has a stay of execution until 2035 as long as the technology can drive a significant distance with no tailpipe emissions. So plug-in hybrids rather than mild hybrid technologies will survive for a little longer. After that it’ll be electric vehicles only.

The IMI questions whether UK technicians are adequately trained to work on EVs and suggests that the facts reinforce the challenge:

• It’s predicted there will be between 2.7 million and 10.6 million EVs on the road by 2030
• The upper figure means that the UK would need approximately 70,500 qualified technicians to support the vehicle parc
• At the moment around 5% of UK automotive technicians are ready, roughly 13,000-20,000
• If the critical mass of skills doesn’t exist, the support infrastructure will be undermined, EV uptake will stall and the zero emissions target will be missed.

The IMI is pushing hard and is calling on the government to recognise the importance of accredited skills – and the need for adequate funding as they feel that government action is needed urgently to encourage employers to accelerate EV training plans.

The IMI has already started preparing. The IMI TechSafe™ standards, endorsed by OLEV at the end of last year, mean that electrified vehicle users can access the IMI Professional Register to check the electric vehicle technical competencies of technicians at their local garage.

They have also rolled out EV training courses, many of which are free to members, so technicians can get up to date as quickly as possible and be ready for when these vehicles start arriving at their businesses – if they haven’t already.

IMI will also soon be announcing exciting news about the IMI’s eLearning offering.

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