Only 3 Per Cent Of Mechanics Are Qualified To Work On EVs
Just three per cent of car mechanics in the UK are qualified to work on electric cars, according to new research, and the vast majority of those are employed by franchised dealers.
The lack of independent, trained and qualified people amounts to another obstacle to mainstream adoption of the electric car, it is claimed, as well as creating a main dealer monopoly on servicing for EVs.
The figures, from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), also show that even at today’s low level of EV adoption, there are still eight plug-in cars to every public charging point. So-called Clean Air Zones across the country are failing to meet EV uptake targets.
Without any competition on pricing, EV servicing is priced unfairly high given the minimal maintenance a typical EV actually needs. A Nissan Leaf minor service covers just a pollen filter and a screen-wash top-up, yet costs £149. It does include a visual inspection of the car, but no further maintenance.
Renault offers three years of servicing on its Zoe electric supermini for £299, but again the first and second services only include a pollen filter and the usual checks of consumables and electrics. The third service adds a new 12-volt battery and the fourth swaps the brake fluid, but this is not exactly extensive service work.
The IMI is now calling for the government to incentivise the training of technicians in safe EV maintenance. It said that it was vital to provide independent mechanics with “the knowledge and skills to safely work on or around high voltage vehicle systems and technology.”
Fair prices for servicing wouldn’t hurt EV adoption, either.
Sources: Auto Express, Speak EV
Comments
EV’s are not the future, hydrogen powered cars are
Why hydrogen is not the future
1) network
2) you have to know how to fix an EV and on top of that you need more knowledge, meaning tradicinal mechanics need even more studying to do.
3) battery tech isn’t needed only in cars. Phone, laptop, tablet etc. Industry is investing as well, meaning that both R&D and Profit are better for investors
I don’t see why this is an issue? The first thing you learn in school is that you will always have to learn, because technology changes. People who are qualified to make videogames in Unity/UE still learn new things on weekly basis, since those programs get updated. If they can constantly learn new things, why couldn’t mechanics?
Also, you can’t tell me that mechanics don’t learn new things every day. Torque vectoring didn’t exist when some of the mechanics who work these days finished school, yet all of them know how to fix it.
Exactly. People adapt, and “qualified” doesn’r mean a whole lot when it comes to mechanics. I know guys who fix anything with a motor out of their shed just as well as any “qualified” mechanic can. In my opinion, most good mechanics could figure out how to work on an EV whether “qualified” or not if a customer dropped one off.
Just get an electrician to do it
I was thinking the same thing
When ev’s become more prevalent, and when 3% of mechanics make all the bank on them, more mechanics will be encouraged to become certified. There’s enough money in fixing ev’s that the market will evolve to support itself
This^
Why a mechanic if a electrician can fix it ?
That’s why every mechanic trainee in Germany gets a course to work on EVs.
I didn’t knew that… although this is another reason for denying the ownership of a EV
shouldn’t be a problem. There is zero “apple certified” repair technicians outside of Apple Store. People just buy new phones instead.
When over-the-air upload slow down these car after the updates, people will be forced to buy new car. hahahaha