Aftermarket is doing its bit to support the beautiful game at the grassroots level, by becoming a sponsor for an under-11s football team in Daventry.

The following businesses have been named as the winners of Top Garage 2021.

The winner and runner up for Top Technician 2021 have been announced.

The issue of accessible kerbside charging for EVs is being taken up by a new committee formed by an organisation for vehicle fleets, where this is seen as the “last stumbling block” holding back mass adoption.

Continuing supply chain disruption is being blamed for a 34.4% fall in new car sales in September, despite it being one of the two main number plate change months of the year.

With its reputation for putting the needs of aftermarket professionals first, Schaeffler continues to do what it does best, completely redesigning its popular REPXPERT portal to provide an even greater resource to technicians, workshop owners and parts distributors.

Garages and other businesses still using the furlough scheme will need to take full responsibility for paying staff again going forward, as the scheme ends today (Thursday 30 September).

With a Free Trade Agreement between Turkey and the UK having been in place since December 2020, 21 leading Turkish automotive aftermarket manufacturers will be looking to meet UK companies via zoom meetings between 18 -22 October.

The Verification of Lubricant Specifications (VLS) has given a clean bill of health to a Mannol engine oil, following an investigation.

Teng Tools has become the latest supplier for The Parts Alliance. Commenting on the new team-up, Alec Butler, Southern Sales Manager and National Accounts Manager at Teng Tools UK, said: “We are very much looking forward to having a strong partnership with The Parts Alliance network of distributors, and connecting with their customer base over the coming weeks, months and years. We are kicking this off with a considerable offering within the Garage Essentials publication over the next six months.”

Northern Divisional Director and Head of Garage Equipment at The Parts Alliance, Steve Gray, added: “We are really excited to be partnering with Teng Tools. They provide a premium product at a cost-effective price, which further enhances The Parts Alliance garage equipment offer to the UK aftermarket.”

The fourth RMI Academy of Automotive Skills training site in Lincoln was officially opened today (Monday 27 September) by local MP Karl McCartney.

This new facility is part of the RMI’s aim of addressing the skills shortage in the automotive industry by providing affordable training for garages on a more local basis.

Stuart James, RMI Director commented: “As the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars approaches, the lack of technicians skilled in hybrid and electric vehicle repair is one of the biggest threats to this plan. We would like to thank Mr McCartney for supporting our efforts in this step forward to provide the skills needed for technicians in the local community to repair the growing number of hybrid and electric vehicles on our roads.”

MP for Lincoln Karl McCartney added: “I am absolutely delighted to see a new training centre for automotive technicians opening within my constituency, offering as it does a wonderful opportunity for young people in our community to learn skills that will support them for the rest of their lives. But by partnering a fantastic long-standing local firm with a dedicated expert professional body, to focus on Hybrid and EV vehicle training, this particular centre also puts Lincoln at the cutting edge of technology.This will offer a double-whammy of opportunity for trainees and the sector as a whole, at a time when only around 5% of technicians in the UK are currently qualified to work on these vehicles.”

The new training site joins established facilities in Runcorn, Winchester and Southam, where a range of MOT and technical training courses are available.

For more information visit RMItrainingAcademy.co.uk

18.4% of classic cars aged over 40 years old failed MOT tests over the last year and half, despite no legal obligation for owners to have one carried out.

NGK has repeated its call to UK garages to take advantage of the current surge in MOT test numbers. Around 5.5 million motorists used the government’s 2020 COVID-19 MOT exemption, which saw vehicles due a test between 30 March 30 and 31 July last year take up the six-month extension. One in five of 14,688 UK drivers surveyed by the AA said they took advantage of the extension, indicating that more than 5.5 million cars had a delayed MOT.

UK EV sales were six times higher than the global average in 2020, putting Britain in fourth place out of 26 countries worldwide, according to a study by international accountancy network UHY.

First Brands Group is the latest company to join the Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA).

Ben has unveiled a new range of programmes targeted at younger people in the sector on its digital mental health and wellbeing platform SilverCloud.

The current fuel shortages being caused by panic-buying across the UK have been cited as a reason for 19% of motorists spoken to for a new survey being more likely to buy an electric car next time.

The finalists for Top Technician 2021, who will be returning to In Town Automotive on Saturday 9 October, are as follows:

Motul is turning its attention to the Goodwood Motor Circuit and its Revival meeting at the weekend, where the company has signed a major multi-year partnership.

Garages that are not set up to service lowered cars could be missing out on a major potential income stream, with interest in lowered car alignment racing ahead across the sector according to Absolute Alignment.

Global steel shortages, increasing aluminised and stainless steel prices and in rising commodity costs, are causing pipe price volatility BM Catalysts has warned.

NGK is continuing to plan for the future, with three Venture Labs based in Tokyo, Silicon Valley and Ratingen in Germany working on a range of projects, with many having real-world applications within the automotive sphere.

Delphi Technologies Aftermarket, through BorgWarner, has launched a new offering for EVs that will enable independent garages to obtain a range of replacement parts, including combined inverter and DC/ DC converters, traction power inverter modules, and onboard chargers.

Bridgestone and electric vehicle charging provider EVBox have teamed up on a project to put in 3,500 new charging ports across Bridgestone’s European retail and service network over the next five years. The network, which will include both normal and fast-charging stations will launch in France and Italy, before expanding across to the UK, Germany, Poland and Spain, as well as other European countries.

TRICO and A1 were able to raise £6,576 for charity Speed Of Sight during the summer through a pledge to donate £1 from every sale via A1 Motor Stores.

The organisers of Automechanika Birmingham have announced a two-day live event taking place next June; The UK Garage and Bodyshop Event. Taking place on 8-9 June 2022 at the NEC Birmingham, the event will provide the opportunity to get up close with suppliers, as well as access to three training hubs and three feature areas.

Aftermarket for the Future will be the theme of the IAAF Virtual Conference 2021, taking place on Thursday 2 December.

The global semiconductor shortage resulting from the pandemic has been contraining new car production volume, and has been cited a main reason behind new car sales for August being 22% down on 2020, making it the weakest August for new car sales since 2013.

The Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA) has teamed up with GROUPAUTO for the upcoming Autoinform Live event.

Ben has launched its own league as part of the Fantasy Premier League for the 2021-22 football season, and is encouraging automotive industry people to take part to be in with a chance to win over £1,000 in cash prizes.

To celebrate Euro 2020, WAIglobal UK launched a competition where customers signed up to a special WAI Euro 2020 app where they could predict match scores for the chance to win prizes, including AirPods, a wireless Qi Charger, wireless headphones, a Bluetooth Speaker and a Smartwatch.

Mass adoption of electric vehicles is unlikely to happen by 2030, with the fact that EVs with a real-world range of around 300 miles will not be available at the mainstream-friendly £21,620 price-point until at least that date being a major stumbling block, according to a new report by GoCompare.

The IMI is taking a lead role at the 2021 British Motor, through its sponsorship of the IMI Technology Theatre, as well as supporting the Automotive Careers Expo.  Key features on the IMI stand will include, the IMI Careers Hub, the IMI Professional Register, IMI TechSafe, VOCANTO e-learning and the Lucas Nuelle Car-Train training unit.

Ben’s Industry Leader Challenge (ILC) fundraiser, The Climb, has been postponed to February 2022 at the earliest due to Tanzania remaining on the travel red list. However, those due to take part will instead undertake the National 3 Peaks Challenge, tackling the three highest peaks in Scotland, England and Wales, from 31 October to 3 November.

Access to in-vehicle data by independent garages would be severely threatened if the VM-backed Extended Vehicle (ExVe) model becomes the standard, the IAAF and its European partners including FIGIEFA are continuing to warn the EU and the UK government.

Electrified vehicles could make up 25% of UK vehicles by 2025, according to GiPA UK.

6,952,454 MOTs are set to expire across England, Scotland and Wales during September and October, according to the latest figures released by the DVSA. This 1.3 million increase represents a 22% rise on pre-pandemic levels.9.58 million drivers opted to take advantage of the 2020 MOT exemption and time-shifted their Spring/Summer tests into the Autumn, which has altered the pattern of testing through the year going forward.

The semi-finalists for Top Technician 2021 have been named.
The following mechanics will be competing in the semi-final, which is being held at In Town Automotive in Northampton on Saturday 4 September:

E10 petrol standard replaces E5 or 95 octane grade petrol at the pump from 1 September, and garages, motor factors and consumers have been racing to prepare for the switch.

Garages should see staff shortages due to self-isolation requirements start to lessen from today, due to COVID-19 rule changes that include those who have received two doses of as vaccine no longer being required to self-isolate if they have been identified as having been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

Garages need to prepare for the growing busy period in the second half of 2021 to make sure they can take advantage of the opportunities, and not be overwhelmed by the workload, GiPA’s Q2 report has suggested.

Independent garages could soon see a boom, as used car sales increased by a massive 108.6% in the second quarter of 2021 according to the latest figures from the SMMT, with older cars making up the vast majority. In fact, only 12.7% of all used cars sold during the three-month period were under three years old, the lowest on record.

Hella Gutmann Solutions (HGS) has teamed up with Pro-Align to provide a combined solution for wheel alignment and ADAS camera and radar calibration.

The combined onslaught of the pingdemic and the ongoing worldwide semiconductor shortage managed to push new car sales down by 29.5% compared with 2020, making it the weakest July since 1998, according to the latest figures from the SMMT.

Ben is to undertake its first ever Big Breakfast fundraiser in October. The event runs for a week, starting on Monday 4 October and ending on World Mental Health Day on Sunday 10 October.

Garages and all other businesses still using the furlough scheme have since yesterday (Sunday 1 August) been required to make larger contributions towards paying their staff.

A MOT surge in the Autumn will be a fact of life for at least a decade, according to a new analysis of the relevant data performed by Continental Tyres.

11% of drivers planning to change their car expect its replacement to be fully electric, up from 8% in 2020 according to new research. When including hybrids, the research from Kwik Fit shows that the number looking for a low emission vehicle next time rises to 37%, a up from from 33% a year ago.