The Parts Alliance has been encouraging garages to proactively offer a battery testing service to customers and has produced a range of marketing materials to assist them.
Vehicles across the country have been standing idle since the lockdown began in late March and one consequence of low vehicle use is the decline in the condition of batteries.
The continual drain from in-vehicle electrical systems and alarms, along with natural loss in charge could result in significant numbers of batteries requiring recharging or replacement in the coming months.
Simon Moore, Head of Marketing at The Parts Alliance, said: “Field research in 2017 conducted by Yuasa, showed that in 1 of 10 vehicles in the UK had a battery that needed replacing. As many as 1 in 4 batteries needed recharging.
“It’s anticipated that the percentage of batteries requiring replacement or recharging is likely to be considerably higher following the lockdown so we encourage garages to test as many batteries as possible.”
The Parts Alliance has developed a suite of marketing materials for garages looking to promote testing. These include posters, a test form and digital marketing resources too.
Simon continued: “Yuasa estimated a typical garage that sees 100 vehicles a month could earn £15,000 per year from new batteries and charging pre-coronavirus. Since lockdown the potential to increase revenue testing is likely to be much higher.”
This period of short, infrequent journeys can cause a battery to fail more rapidly and the Parts Alliance has also reminded garages that problems due to vehicle inactivity are not covered by warranty as they’re not due to ‘manufacturing defect’.
