HELLA has invested in its Lippstadt base with a new visitor, administrative and exhibition centre under construction next door to the company’s historic headquarters that will transform it into a high-tech location. At the same time, an urban planning competition is scheduled for the future use of the former Steinstrasse company premises.

Euro Car Parts’ acquisition of Andrew Page has been approved by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), subject to the sale of  nine depots.

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), has presented MPs and peers from the House of Lords with a new report that underlines the case for regulation around those working on electric and hybrid vehicles.

"The Art of Light" film by HELLA received two silver OttoCar awards at the AutoVision International Automotive Film and Multimedia Festival, in the categories "Product films: Suppliers" and "Research & Development, Environmental Protection, CSR".
AutoVision is an international festival for industry films, commercials, websites and interactive applications in the automotive industry. The competition is an initiative of Filmservice International and is supported by the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). The OttoCar awards are presented every other year.
In its film, HELLA introduces its liquid crystal HD headlamp technology. HELLA plans to serialise the LCD headlamp and gradually expand the number of pixels it projects onto the road from the current 30,000 to approximately 50,000 pixels.
The OttoCar awards were presented on 14 September, during IAA 2017 in Frankfurt.

Top Technician is coming back for 2018, and is bringing a new competition with it; Top Garage. This all-new related contest will enable whole businesses to compete to find out who is the ‘Top.’

Schaeffler’s automotive aftermarket business is to be upgraded to full divisional status following a prolonged period of growth.   Fom 1 January 2018, the Schaeffler Group will comprise of three separate divisions – Automotive OEM, Industrial and the newly-created Automotive Aftermarket (AAM) – which will be run autonomously within Schaeffler from its headquarters in Langen, Germany.   The move has led to the internal appointment of Michael Söding to the board of managing directors, who has been the president of the Automotive Aftermarket business unit since 2009.   As an autonomous division within Schaeffler, AAM will be given more momentum to proceed with necessary improvements and changes faster and more effectively – for the benefit of its customers, including those in the UK.   Schaeffler UK Managing Director, Nigel Morgan, explained why the British AAM organisation will benefit: “We will remain an ambitious and reliable partner to the UK Aftermarket, but this improved position within the Schaeffler group will allow us to become more efficient at developing and delivering our fantastic range of LuK, INA, FAG and Ruville repair solutions, all backed-up by the unrivalled levels of service that our customers have come to expect.”

Springs manufacturer Advanex will be opening a new factory in the Czech Republic next year. The new purpose built 8,500m2 factory will open in August 2018 at CT Park, Prague Airport and will employ up to 60 staff.

London’s new T-Charge came into force today (Monday 23 October 2017).

Government must work to provide a stable environment for growth according to RMI chairman Peter Johnson, speaking at the RMI Annual Dinner in London last night (Thursday 19 October).

HELLA is looking for workshops that have ‘something special’ to feature in the company’s 2019 “Experts At Work” calendar to celebrate the dedication and commitment that technicians make to the industry.

Nicholson’s Stalham Engineering, based in Norfolk , has become the first British business to become a  Euro Repar Car Service Centre.

Three lucky players of the Brembo promotion, Formula Brembo, won flights, accommodation and tickets to watch all the action at Monza in early September. Will Gibson, Jonathan Stafford and Stephen Feasey all won flights, accommodation and tickets to one of the most popular rounds of the world’s biggest motorsport race.

The Parts Alliance, GSF’s parent company, has secured a long-term exclusive Western European distribution agreement to sell the Bendix brand of braking products. The company will initially focus on friction material products.

From May next year, vehicles over 40 years old will no longer need to receive an MOT inspection.

Independent garages are ahead of franchised dealers when it comes to winning customer hearts and minds according to a new survey.
The What Car? Servicing Satisfaction Survey 2017 heard from 8,300 new car customers, and found independents beat franchised dealers when it comes to value for money across servicing work, with an average customer satisfaction score of 89.8% compared to 79.4%.
On newer cars, customers gave independents 84.1% for satisfaction and 91.4% for value. In comparison, franchised outlets, who serviced the majority of younger cars in the survey, attained a customer satisfaction score of 80.9%.
On customer experience, independents scored 94.2% on average for attitude and politeness of staff compared to 91.1% for franchised dealers. Franchised workshops also scored less for the quality of work, with 88.5% of customers satisfied compared to 92.7% of those who used independents.

Redditch United Football Club played host to a successful evening of networking, food and football, as sponsors TRICO and Comline invited dozens of guests to watch the home game against Slough Town on Tuesday night (26 September).

Halfords Autocentres are  entering the digital radio car conversion market via a new fitting service.

Ben has launched a new package for businesses, called Ben4Business.

The Verification of Lubricant Specifications (VLS)  has opened a landmark 50th case after receiving a new product complaint on 6 September 2017. The complaint concerns an automotive engine oil and is currently being investigated by the Technical Review Panel, in accordance with VLS procedures.

A dedicated Workshop Quarter will be among the enhancements to be found at Automechanika Birmingham 2018, taking place next June.

Pagid has awarded a UK workshop a £10,000 upgrade, through its Workshop Winners campaign, which took place this summer.

Businesses in the sector are already looking towards Automechanika Birmingham 2018, as the organisers  begin announcing plans for the show from tomorrow (5 September).

TRICO has launched a special video called ‘100 Years of TRICO’ to coincide with their centenary year, which it has uploaded onto its YouTube channel.    

The Parts Alliance has teamed up with Delphi for the second time in 2017 to run their new ‘Best of Brakes’ promotion.

From September onwards, Ring will be hiding hundreds of golden tickets inside their H7 headlight bulb boxes, giving technicians the chance to win a selection of prizes, including workshop equipment, dash cameras and branded clothing.

Top Technician 2017 has been another fantastic year for the competition, and with the finals behind us, all eyes are now turning towards Top Tech Live, taking place on Saturday 16 September at the Henry Ford Academy in Daventry.

This year's Hats on 4 Mental Health Day, organised by Ben is taking place on 13 October, during the week of World Mental Health Day.

Ben has announced that Mike Brewer has become its first ever Ben Celebrity Ambassador. Mike Brewer is renowned in the industry for his role as presenter of Wheeler Dealers, and he is also a journalist, producer, campaigner and motoring enthusiast.

The sale of The Parts Alliance to its new Canadian owner Uni-Select Inc. has been completed. Its new owner paid £205m to buy the group.

ECP Autofirst network reaches milestone

Top Technician 2017 reached the final last week, and all eyes now turn towards Top Tech Live, where the winner will be announced in September.

Trico’s competition enabling garages and motor factors to win a power bank has been extended until the end of July.

More UK motorists than ever are choosing electric and hybrid vehicles but the trend could be threatened if infrastructure investment does not keep pace, the IMI has warned.

‘Your Car, Your Choice’ is the new rallying cry for the sector, as the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) relaunches Right2Choose for today’s world.

Members of NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd’s BoxClever garage loyalty scheme could soon win a monster 1000-piece Teng Tools kit cabinet worth £10,000 thanks to a new three-month promotion starting on 1 July.

Last year, UK consumers bought a higher percentage of automotive parts, accessories and services online than they did cosmetics and groceries according to research commissioned by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) from independent consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

The National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) has appointed the first ever national chairman to come from the aftermarket since the organisation’s inception in 1930.

A Suffolk garage proprietor has gone totally over to solar power, just in time for summer. Mark Bradley, owner of Spot On Tuning in Denham is running his business entirely via solar panels. He used 240-volt arrays from his other business, a mobile solar power hire firm called Solar Decker he has run since 2007.

Braking brand Pagid, part of TMD Friction, is to give a UK workshop a £10,000 upgrade via its Workshop Winners campaign, taking place this summer.

The Parts Alliance Group has been acquired from its private equity owner HgCapital by Uni-Select Inc., a Canadian publicly listed, North American Automotive aftermarket distributor.  

Top Technician 2017 finalists named

Motor sector figures in Sunday Times Rich List 2017

TRICO has uploaded a number of step-by-step wiper blade fitting videos to their YouTube channel.

Motorists who commit serious speeding offences face much higher fines from today (24 April) following the introduction of new guidelines by the Sentencing Council.

76% of car owners reject the idea of a car's first MOT taking place at four years old according to research published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The survey examined driver attitudes to the proposed 4-1-1 MOT being considered by the Department for Transport (DfT).