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SOUTHEAST EDITIO N
AUTOBODY AL / FL / GA / MS / NC / SC / TN / VA / WV
AUTOBODYNEWS.COM
Vol. 10 / Issue 12 / February 2020
Volvo to Build Battery Assembly Facility at Its U.S. Plant
Shops Report More Success in Getting Paid for Frame, Mechanical Procedures
by Mark Kane, Inside Evs
by John Yoswick
According to the latest media report, as part of the $600 million investment project at its Ridgeville, SC, plant, Volvo will build a battery pack assembly facility to support upcoming BEV production. The other part of the investment is a second production line and Volvo Car University. The battery pack production facility should be completed in 2021, just in time for the first all-electric model that will be produced at the Ridgeville plant for global markets from 2022.
It will be an all-electric Volvo XC90 - the upcoming third generation of the model, based on an upcoming second-generation Scalable Product Architecture platform (SPA2). Currently, the XC90 is offered as an ICE and a PHEV with all-electric range of up to 18 miles (29 km). The first series-produced all-electric Volvo, the Volvo XC40 Recharge will enter the market by the end of this year. We thank Inside Evs for reprint permission.
Prevalence of Vehicle Scanning – and Insurers’ Willingness to Pay for it – Have Risen The industry’s adoption of vehicle scanning as an indispensable part of the repair process can be seen in the results of the “Who Pays for What” surveys conducted for several years by Collision Advice and CRASH Network. In the survey conducted this past fall, 11% of shops said they might skip a post-repair scan because no dash lights are lit – not a legitimate reason – but in the same survey in 2016, nearly half of all shops (44%) said that was a reason they might skip the scan. Likewise, three years ago, about 1 in 5 shops said they did-
n’t perform scans because they don’t have the tools necessary to perform the scans. In the latest survey, 2% used that as an excuse. Payment practices have evolved as well. Back in 2016, a “Who Pays” survey found more than 30% of all shops said that one of the reasons they didn’t perform a post-repair vehicle scan was that insurers didn’t pay them for the procedure. Three years later, just 12% of shops say a lack of insurer payment is one of the reasons they might not perform a vehicle scan. More than 97% of shops See Vehicle Scanning, Page 16
Something seemingly as simple as disconnecting and reconnecting a vehicle’s battery during the repair process may not sound like something that should require researching OEM procedures, and that might be why only 3 in 10 shops say they always do so, according to data from a recent “Who Pays for What?” survey. However, as Mike Anderson of Collision Advice, who conducts the “Who Pays” surveys in conjunction with CRASH Network, explained in a column in Autobody News last summer, increasingly complex or time-consuming procedures for battery disconnect-and-reconnects are becoming more common. “The procedure for the 2018 Chevy Cruze is seven pages long,”
Anderson said. “It includes that you need to inform the customer that the ‘start/stop’ feature on the vehicle will not be available until the vehicle is allowed to sit for at least three hours. I was analyzing the procedures called for by one Asian automaker recently, and found the OEM had 11 procedures required after reconnecting the battery. And most automakers say disconnecting the battery will set diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) that may be impossible to detect without completing a post-repair vehicle scan.” The good news is that 80 percent of the more than 650 shops responding to the “Who Pays” survey also said they are paid by the eight largest auto insurers “most” or “all of the time” for the procedures related See Getting Paid, Page 32
What We Know About US Jobs and Other Details of Fiat Chrysler, PSA Merger by Breana Noble, The Detroit News
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and French automaker Groupe PSA said their boards unanimously supported a binding agreement to merge and create the world’s fourth-largest automaker. The deal is one step further than Fiat Chrysler got earlier this year with Renault SA, another French carmaker. The combination of PSA and FCA is expected to provide cost savings, create a hedge against cyclical downturns and have the scale to invest and compete in an electric and self-driving future. Although the companies are calling the deal a 50-50 merger, PSA would hold a board majority and appoint six of the 11 board members. That includes PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, who is expected to lead the
combined company. Here is what else to know about the deal: What comes next? With the binding agreement signed, the automakers can pursue obtaining antitrust and regulatory approval from the companies in which it operates. They also must receive approval from their shareholders. The process is expected to take 12 to 15 months. “We don’t feel we have any concerns with antitrust” laws, Tavares said. “We’ve reviewed this topic and are very comfortable we have no problem on antitrust” regulations. What is the name of the new company? The name of the new company has not yet been announced. Information See US Jobs, Page 16
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