The rising variety of electrical automobiles on the street presents a “sea change” within the auto trade. But Peter Kahn, senior director of analysis and insights at CDK Global, thinks EVs “spell opportunity in a lot of ways” for dealership service departments.
Kahn acknowledges there was a number of speak and concern that service departments would lose enterprise as a result of EVs require much less upkeep, comparable to oil adjustments. But a CDK examine completed this 12 months confirmed there is perhaps fewer buyer defections with EV house owners than with inner combustion engine automobile house owners.
“We believe that retention is going to grow,” Kahn stated through the Oct. 4 Fixed Ops Journal Forum session on getting service departments prepared for EVs.
“There’s a lot of defection when it comes to gas engines, but certainly as you move toward a more complex engine, something that is a little newer, you see a lot more loyalty and trust in the dealership and its factory-trained mechanics. Things like that, we believe, will help you with filling up the gap for revenue.”
Kahn harassed the significance of dealerships constructing a partnership with their producers to higher perceive how the automakers see the market shaping up and what allocations they’re planning. He additionally harassed how essential it’s for the gross sales division to coach EV consumers on the low-maintenance facet of the automobile however to not oversell it as maintenance-free.
Kahn stated service departments ought to think about promoting upkeep packages to new EV house owners that emphasize battery and electrical checks and repair.
“We’ve surveyed customers who have EVs and their experiences. They’ve been bringing their vehicle in just to have a health check done on the battery, to make sure the cables are connected, that the cooling system is OK,” Kahn stated. “There’s a little bit of concern [because] it’s a new technology and they want to make sure that everything is in tip-top shape when it comes to the powerplant itself.”
Another service chance is emergency roadside help for fast battery charging.
Kahn stated getting a service division able to restore and preserve EVs requires a rethinking of the labor, particularly in the case of technicians. Master technicians who perceive inner combustion engine automobiles take advantage of sense to work on these vehicles.
“But with these newer cars, you’re going from essentially a kind of a wrench-turner to more like a computer engineer,” he stated. “Segregate your folks and train some folks who are maybe younger and more in tune to computer software and want to learn more about that. You get them trained first, and then maybe you bring your master mechanics on secondly.”
A shift to EVs additionally is a chance to recruit new folks to a service profession — these maybe extra fascinated with computer systems than gasoline engines.
Kahn additionally stated service departments ought to study how they pay their technicians as a result of initially, at the least, it might take somebody longer to diagnose an issue in an EV.
“You want to make sure that everybody comes out whole if it’s going to take longer to diagnose what the problem is with the vehicle,” he stated.
Service bays will must be expanded and surrounded by a security ring to maintain folks a secure distance away. Training shall be essential for anybody on the dealership who is perhaps strolling close to EVs in for service, Kahn stated. Also, dealerships should refill on specialty instruments, security fits and grounding pads, amongst different objects. And they’re going to must you should definitely set up some charging stations close to the service departments — not just for prospects however for technicians engaged on automobiles that want a cost.
“We’ve heard from folks who work on EVs that you may have to expand your loaner fleet or your rental fleet because it does take more time to work on these vehicles — both parts as well as diagnostics training,” Kahn stated.
And he could not emphasize sufficient how essential it’s for dealership service departments to coordinate and accomplice with automakers.
“You know, working with your OEM to understand what those warranty claims are going to take, how the new diagnostic tools work, how over-the-air software works and all those things,” Kahn stated. “You’re going to get a lot from working with the OEM very closely. And lastly, make sure your parts manager is in on these conversations and they’ve thought about the specialized parts they need to stock.”
Source: www.autonews.com