AAAA AND AIC LAUNCH EXCITING NEW EV INITIATIVE FOR THE AFTERMARKET

New vehicles will form the foundation of a dedicated joint campaign

The Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) and the Auto Innovation Centre (AIC) are excited to launch a new EV initiative set to benefit the automotive aftermarket industry.

Thanks to a partnership with the Victorian Government via the ZEV Commercial Sector Innovation Fund, the AIC has taken delivery of two exciting new EVs: a Polestar 2, and what is currently the only commercially available Ford F-150 Lightning in Australia.

EV requirements to support technicians and aftermarket developers.

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How is your business performing? Did you grow this past year? What are your targets for the year ahead? What investments do you need to make to achieve those goals?

If you have a business plan, now is the time to check your budgets, targets and KPIs against your actual figures.

If you have been working towards your plan all year, hopefully this will be a rewarding task as you see the results of all your plans and hard work in black and white on the bottom of a balance sheet.

If you don’t have a business plan (and we know from our State of the Nation 2022 research that 27 percent of Capricorn Members don’t have a growth plan in place) then now is the ideal time to create one – you are doing your accounts anyway, so review last year’s performance, look at your strengths and weaknesses, decide what worked and what didn’t, and think about where you should focus your efforts in the coming year. Be sure to set goals: growth in business rarely happens by accident.

Capricorn Members who had a growth plan in place told State of the Nation 2022 that they were planning to achieve their targets by improving business efficiency (64 percent), increasing profit margins (45 percent), employing more staff (42 percent), increasing workshop capacity (40 percent) and winning more customers (38 percent). How are you planning to achieve yours?

Set your financial goals and develop your strategic plan, and don’t just stick it in a drawer. You have to work at it and monitor your progress regularly against your budgets and goals.

Good luck with your business plan for the 2023-2024 financial year!

Yours in cooperation,

David Fraser Group CEO – Capricorn Society Ltd

For more on Capricorn Society membership, visit www.capricorn.coop

The new vehicles will form the foundation of a dedicated joint AAAA and AIC campaign to support the aftermarket through the coming EV transition with training and product development opportunities, and to help promote the uptake of EVs in Victorian fleets.

“The AAAA has a robust strategy that fosters training, education and networking on EVs, so it is fantastic to see the AIC take delivery of these vehicles,” AAAA Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Charity, said.

“It is vital that the aftermarket is prepared and equipped to service, repair and modify EVs for commercial use and these vehicles will help us train technicians, and guide our strategy and communications surrounding the coming EV transition.”

The Auto Innovation Centre, Australia’s cuttingedge provider of automotive scan data and testing services to assist aftermarket product developers, is perfectly positioned to execute the AAAA’s EV strategy and support this important industry transition.

“EVs are increasingly in demand from a training, modifications, and testing perspective,” AIC Managing Director, Luke Truskinger, said.

“Our new vehicles will help us understand unique

“The AIC directed by the requirements of many industry suppliers and product developers will be undertaking a range of tests and modifications on the vehicles to understand the suitability for various markets and usages.

“Our F-150 Lightning is one of the few full sized 4WD EVs in the world and is the long-range dual motor variant with optional towing pack.

“The Polestar 2 is a performance long range dual motor variant and is a great example of a popular passenger EV in Australia.”

The AIC will provide industry access to both of these vehicles, with special subsidised access opportunities for Victorian companies who are involved in the manufacture and use of fleet vehicles that operate in Victoria and have a focus on increasing EV uptake.

“We are currently looking for suppliers and modifiers that want to get their hands on these cars,” Luke said.

“If you want access to these vehicles to boost knowledge, or training, or for testing or product development, please contact us to have a chat. We look forward to supporting the industry through this EV transition.”

To enquire about EV access, please email Luke at the AIC on contact@autoic.com.au