[NATIONAL] FEATURE
The Next Big Challenge:
by Joel Gausten
Preparing for the Electric Vehicle Wave This industry is never short of moving targets in terms of automotive technologies, but the rise of electric vehicles (EV) is one item that needs to be on top of every collision repair facility’s list of things to know about now. If you think EVs are simply an exotic and specialized segment of the automotive market that will not impact the work you perform, it’s time to take a closer look at where automakers plan to be in just a few short years. For example, General Motors recently made headlines by announcing plans to stop making gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles by 2035. GM drove home its commitment to EVs in a statement posted on its consumer-facing website (gm.com/electric-vehicles.html): GM is on its way to an all-electric future, with a commitment to 30 new global electric vehicles by 2025. We are aggressively going after every aspect of what it takes to put everyone in an EV, because we need millions of EVs on the road to make a meaningful impact toward building a zero-emissions future. GM is positioned to design, engineer and produce EVs for every style and price point, and we are rapidly building a competitive advantage in batteries, software, vehicle integration, manufacturing and customer experience. 22 August 2021
New England Automotive Report
Of course, motions by GM and other car manufacturers to board the EV train with greater frequency mean that experienced technicians are needed to properly repair and service such vehicles – and the learning curve will be massive. As just one example of the change about to hit shop floors, EVs generally have fewer than 20 moving parts versus the more than 2,000 found in traditional combustible-engine vehicles. For some OEMs, the seeds for EV training are largely being planted at the dealership level for the time being. As of this writing, Audi is one OE that is focusing on getting its dealers up to speed on EVs first before branching out to other facilities. “If you look at the tool packages that are required, the investment is fast approaching $100,000 just for hardware – and then there is that pesky tech training issue,” Mark Allen, collision and equipment manager for Audi of America, explained in a recent conversation with New England Automotive Report. “These are highly specialized skills with a danger quotient applied.” For its part, I-CAR has been actively working to stay ahead of the EV trend and provide training to the industry at-large. The following is a small sampling of the I-CAR EV-related courses currently available, with some developed and launched within the last handful of months:
