CARS reached out to leaders and executives in the automotive repair sector and asked them their thoughts on how business will change for shops in the year ahead, what the biggest challenge for the industry is moving forward and what they see as the top opportunity in 2022. We will present their answers in alphabetical order over the coming weeks…
You can view the full feature in our February 2022 issue.
Tony Kuczynski, President, CEO | Mister Transmission (International)
The automotive repair market is expected to continue to be robust over the next 12 months. This is being driven in part by new car availability challenges, which is driving customers to spend more money repairing older vehicles.
The aftermarket repair sector is facing three significant challenges which have been made more severe by the pandemic. The first is parts availability. Parts today are often on back-order or simply not available, forcing customers to wait longer to get their vehicles back — and making shops less productive.
Compounding this is the second significant challenge: Parts price inflation. In some cases, we’re seeing parts costs up as much as 25 per cent. To help overcome this, repair shops have had to become more aggressive at sourcing parts and have had to increase their prices for the work they perform.
Third, the industry continues to deal with a shortage of skilled technicians. It is imperative that shop owners today always be on the search for good staff, even when they think they have a strong team in place.
With ever-evolving technologies, a growth opportunity continues to be technician training. Turning work away costs money. Companies like Mister Transmission are taking on newer technologies like six- and eight-speed transmissions and CVTs, which is helping to increase market share. However, seizing these sales requires technician training.
Finally, winning shops have winning teams, led by leaders who exhibit a positive, encouraging attitude -leaders who don’t give up despite the challenges they face.
Leave a Reply