MECHANICAL DIVISION DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE

By Mike McLynn, AASP-MN Mechanical Division Director

Electric Vehicles

When I think about what is changing in the automotive industry, one of the first things that comes to mind is electric vehicles (EVs). The thought of having to learn this new area of repair work weighs heavy on my mind (not just for my shop, but for so many small independents), and at the same time, I am optimistic about how the industry is moving forward. It seems we are entering a new segment of the electric vehicle timeline. We are no longer in the time when they were new, expensive, inconvenient and novel. They are now much more common, practical and clearly here to stay.

There have been shops specializing in fixing these vehicles for years, but now the market is opening more for independent shops to begin integrating electric vehicles in their standard rotation of work. Many of these cars have been on the road long enough to be ready for tires, brakes, blower motors and other typical maintenance work. No, we aren’t to the point where every shop needs to learn how to manage powering down and removing batteries. But we certainly are at a point of opportunity.

The previous owner of my shop (Bruce Lestico) saw fuel injected engines as just the sort of opportunity that I see with EVs. He knew they were the future, so he decided to proactively learn how to work on them before the competition. Bruce is now long retired, but now we almost only work on fuel injected engines and all sorts of other parts that make up today’s highly computerized cars. His forward-looking strategy certainly put us in a position for the lasting success we have today.

As an AASP-MN member and leader, I’m excited to see more shops taking on EV work and optimistic about the number of shops that will soon be doing standard EV repairs. I’m looking forward to learning more from AASP-MN about ways to start working on EVs, too!