Service demand set to surge
Garages could face a severe test on resources next month, with MOT tests expected to increase by up to 10%.
The MOT rise is down to the unprecedented car sales boom of 2014, which reached an all-time decade high of 2.48 million. With 400,000 of these cars purchased in September of that year for the new registration, under government regulation these vehicles require a first MOT after three years, and this date is fast approaching.
‘Reports of continued growth within the industry have been gaining traction for some time,’ said Gavin White, MD of Autotech Recruit. ‘However, the need to maintain and service the vehicles which originally sparked the sales boom is now starting, but garages do not have the manpower, or technicians sufficiently skilled to fix the vehicles which have become increasingly technical.’
A report by the Automotive Council, which revealed that 5,000 motor industry jobs were vacant in 2016, underpins the full scale of the problem.
Gavin added, ‘An unmanned MOT bay can cost a garage up to £2,000 per day in lost revenue, and we have a UK-wide network of temporary MOT testers and vehicle technicians at our fingertips, whose services we can place immediately to ensure efficiency is maintained at all times.’
