Tech will be king in tomorrow’s workshop

Nine out of 10 motor industry professionals believe working with technology will be an increasingly important skill for workshop mechanics in years to come.

These are the key findings of new research carried out by CitNOW. It found that 89% of motor industry professionals predict technological know-how will be a requirement for technicians over the next 10 years.  

The study by CitNOW also identified the most likely technologies to enter the workshop, according to professionals themselves.

Robotics (48%), remotely accessing and repairing software in cars (49%) and guided diagnostics (46%) were revealed as the most likely to become commonplace in the workshop over the next ten years.

More than a third of industry professionals (34%) are also expecting the automated delivery of vehicles via autonomous driving to enter the workshop, which could have significant implications for customer relationships.

As the contact between technicians and customers changes, the use of personalised video to help establish regular remote touch-points and retain trust and transparency will be crucial for workshops and their customers.

Alistair Horsburgh, CitNOW CEO, said, ‘Technology is revolutionising the workshop as we know it, and technicians need a set of skills stretching further than traditional mechanical know-how in order to match this change.

‘As the workshop develops, customer-friendly tools like personalised video will be crucial for workshops, fostering healthy customer relationships through transparency and trust and being able to visually explain the more complex work required.’

With 42% of workshop professionals highlighting the importance of hybrid and electrical vehicle know-how, technicians will need to be well-versed in EVs as well as technology within the workshop itself. The findings follow CitNOW’s ‘Workshop Professional of the Future’ report, which examines industry opinion on the developing skill set of workshop technicians in future.