Less dependence on electric cars for maintenance and repairs, added to the difficulties for independent workshops to update themselves, will mean that in a few years, thousands of independent establishments will have to close due to lack of work.
The figures are quite alarming for the sector, which has seen how the ban on the sale of cars with combustion engines has marked the beginning of the end of its activity as we know it. But this end could come much sooner for many.
This is indicated by British professionals, who, in statements to The Sun newspaper, have criticized their government’s move to distance itself from the EU, launching an ambitious project to end sales of new combustion engine cars five years earlier than in Europe in 2030.
This is added to other factors, such as the difficulties that workshops are having when it comes to adapting to the new reality of the electric car, which requires new training courses. But the statistics are clear, and according to the data, barely one in five mechanics in countries like the United Kingdom are prepared to meet the mechanical needs of an electric car.
Additionally that many of these independent workshops complain that the brands are not transparent when it comes to accessing the necessary resources to carry out some repairs, to which is also added the cost of all the material necessary to complete the maintenance.
All this will force the workshops to make investments in updating both the knowledge of their staff, with an estimated cost of around 8,000 pounds per employee, as well as adapting their facilities.
Given this scenario, many professionals already warn that users will also suffer the consequences, since according to what they indicate “electric vehicles require less maintenance than gasoline or diesel cars, but if they break down, it is very expensive to repair them.”
A sector that they estimate will lose 50% of its workshops in the next six years, which will have the consequence that the brands will see direct and close competition in terms of maintenance being lost. And with less competition, we can expect higher prices for everyone.
