Autodata has warned that spring holds the potential to overwhelm workshops as different factors combine to bring an influx of jobs into garages.
With EU and EFTA data showing new registrations have been at their highest across March, April and May in the last five years, annual servicing, vehicle worthiness tests and check-ups will fall on the anniversary of these spring months.
This data is said to reinforce Autodata’s Most Serviced Vehicle report, which shows that March is the most popular month for vehicle servicing and repairs.
A key component of this alignment is COVID-19. The pandemic forced several governments to allow motorists to delay legally required vehicle checks past their original due date, which are now likely to start to feed into workshops over the next few months.
Plus, with unprecedented vaccination programmes underway globally, governments are keen to relax lockdowns, refuel the economy and get workers back into offices. But, with workers remaining wary of public transport, there is a greater temptation to drive to work and many homeworker vehicles have been parked up or little used for long periods. And, with problems highly likely, they will call on the workshop to get them back on the road.
All of these factors have the potential for workshops to cause an influx of requests during spring, and there could be increased pressure to accept and service customers, keen to fix their vehicle issues quickly.
Another factor is the significant growth of home deliveries. Autodata saw a 19% rise in requests for LCV service data between Q1 and Q3 2020 as online delivery services expanded, all of which will now be reaching their anniversary and require workshop attention.
Chris Wright, Managing Director of Autodata, said: “Whilst there is still uncertainty on when lockdowns will be eased, it’s clear there could be pressure on workshops to handle any eventuality on any vehicle, rather than turn away work because they don’t have the technical help to fix a problem.
“The pandemic may well intensify the normal seasonal patterns for workshops, but with Autodata covering 90% of vehicles and providing easy to follow diagrams and technical procedures, our customers can rest assured that our data will help them get their customers back on the road quickly, relieving undue pressure in the workshop and maintaining great service levels.”
