COVID-19 caused a 75% drop in overall apprentice recruitment across the automotive in June sector with take up in garages and dealerships seeing an even steeper 87% fall, and the IMI has warned this could mean that millions of pounds of Apprentice Levy funding disappears unused back into government coffers.

MOT demand during autumn expected to double following the return of normal testing last Saturday (1 August). To avoid a backlog at garages and take advantage of a summer lull at testing stations, the DVSA is encouraging motorists who took advantage of the MOT exemption to get their car tested as soon as possible.

The trend towards lower car sales resulting from COVID-19 lockdown restrictions seemed to go into reverse during July, with UK new car registations zooming up 11.3%, according to the latest figures from the SMMT.

 Garages that have taken advantage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme now have to pay a small proportion of the cost of the furlough, with this share rising until the scheme winds up at the end of October.

 The long-awaited requirements for the safe repair of ADAS-equipped vehicles have been published today (Friday 31 July) by Thatcham Research.

Comline’s brake pads have received an Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) ‘N’ rating, confirming that the brand’s pads contain less than 0.5% of copper by weight.The rating permits the brand to use the AASA LeafMark ‘N’ icon in promoting its range of all makes brake pads.The AASA LeafMark will be included on Comline promotional material in going forward.

As part of its ongoing efforts to future-proof the independent aftermarket, LKQ Euro Car Parts has introduced a new, cloud-based version of its garage management software (GMS), CarSys.

With the wearing of face masks mandatory in all retail shops from today (Friday 24 July), WAIglobal UK is offering three types of mask, including the KN95, which has a 95% particle filtration, is CE marked and is recommended to be used for up to 12 hours.

With the end of the MOT extension in sight, and the easing of lockdown meaning more custom coming through the door, you would expect business confidence to rise in the aftermarket. Now, new figures have shown that the proportion of all UK small businesses predicting growth has almost doubled in just three months – from 14% to 27%.

Personalised customer video provider VIEWMECH, which is provided by LKQ Euro Car Parts, has announced a new integration with finance provider Payment Assist that will enable workshops to provide an entirely contact-free customer journey all the way through to payment.

6,000 automotive businesses on the brink, but vast majority demonstrating resilience 6,000 automotive businesses could be at risk of closing within the next few weeks, according to the IMI’s analysis of the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

Ben is launching its first ever series of virtual challenges, as part of Bring It On 4 Ben. The first to run this year, Formula Ben Silverstone VGP, starts on Sunday 2 August and is inspired by the Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

 Independent garages were actively sought out by motorists left unsupported by the mass closure of franchised dealers during lockdown, with garage lead generator site autoadviser.co.uk seeing an 88% increase in traffic over the period.

Snap-on has added an online vehicle coverage guide to its website that functions as a reference tool, allowing users to look up Snap-on software coverage.

Government advice on working from home is shifting towards encouraging remote workers back into the office, and with public transport still being shunned and millions of Brits looking to holiday in the UK this summer, garages could see a massive surge in work to complement the expected increase resulting from the end of the MOT extension.

One in three used cars looked at as part of an investigation into second-hand car sales across the South West were faulty or unsafe, Trading Standards has found.

The Original Equipment Suppliers Aftermarket Association (OESAA) is offering garages the chance to get one of  3,000 free ‘Back on Track’ packs of workshop essentials to UK independent garages, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Snap-on has added APOLLO-D8 to the tool matcher feature on its website, designed to help technicians find the right Intelligent Diagnostic tool to meet their needs.

The IMI’s TechSafe Sector Advisory Group has expanded.

The ongoing effect of Coronavirus and the impact of the MOT extension will be among the topics discussed during the next IAAF Zoom-based ‘Industry Briefing Bitsize’ next week.

 Snap-on are offering MOT testing stations the opportunity to sidestep a looming calibration crisis and fast-track themselves back to full readiness when the MOT extension ends via a fully calibrated SUN DGA5000 emissions analyser.

Yuasa are giving workshops nationwide a free USB smart button that connects users to the company’s battery lookup site.

The Ben Ball is the latest industry bash to be cancelled in the wake of COVID-19. The annual pre-yuletide event won’t be taking place this year for the first time since World War II, contributing to a potential income shortfall of £1m for Ben this year.

A bogus Sussex garage owner who was also a serial fraudster targeting women via dating websites and then conning them out of thousands of pounds, has been jailed for 10 years. 

Garages will not be facing the prospect of a vehicle scrappage scheme, but Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak has announced a £1,000 bonus for every employee brought back to work from furlough.

All garages in the RAC Approved Garages network, powered by Autofirst, have been granted a membership subscription payment holiday and are also being provided with a new COVID-19 code of conduct that provides guidelines on safe working.

The government is being accused of taking “a serious safety risk” by allowing millions of motorists to keep their cars on the road until January 2021 without a current MOT.

92% of automotive businesses were open by the second half of June, with 19% of those actually reporting an increase in turnover according to an analysis of new Office of National Statistics (ONS) data by the IMI.

New car sales in June showed an improvement on recent months as dealerships in England opened up, but the longer shutdown of the franchised sector in Wales and Scotland still meant sales were 34.9% lower than last year.

Are furloughed mechanics about to see dawn's early light for the first time April? With pubs, restaurants and many attractions able to open from Saturday (4 July), garages with staff on furlough may be looking to bring them back part-time, which is now possible.

 Snap-on has hit the century mark this year, and to celebrate this milestone, the company is giving away an incredible £100,000 of free ATL aftercare support and emissions analysers for 100 lucky customers.

The Prime Minister has continued to suggest that much greater support for apprenticeships is on the cards, with the offer of an “Opportunity Guarantee” made in his speech on the economy yesterday (Tuesday 1 July), although specifics are still thin on the ground.

While MOTs may be returning to normal from 1 August, new research has suggested that 9.2m cars may not be roadworthy, some with dangerous faults, and 29% of drivers know they have a problem.

Subscription based online repair methods resource Ezi-Methods has reached the milestone of 2 million repair method downloads.

Organisations across the sector have continued to welcome the end of the MOT extension return of normal testing from 1 August.

Mandatory MOT testing is to be reintroduced from 1 August 2020 as COVID-19 restrictions are slowly lifted, Roads Minister Baroness Vere has announced today (Monday 29 June).

Aftermarket Magazine regular contributors Andy Savva, A.K.A The Garage Inspector and Carmaster’s Rebecca Pullan are among the industry names taking part in a COVID-19 business recovery webinar being held by Castrol next week.

Autotech Recruit is waiving its recruitment fees on permanent positions for the next three months with a view to helping the aftermarket return to full strength. 

LIQUI MOLY has partnered with the new MB Motorsport accelerated by Blue Square team ahead of their first season in the British Touring Car Championship.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be among the vital topics discussed via a series of live free-to-attend webinars being launched by Messe Frankfurt UK, organisers of Automechanika Birmingham.

 The cost of charging an electric vehicle in the UK at present puts the country just within the top 10 most expensive places worldwide, but is still cheaper than most European and other developed nations.

 While the likelihood of a scrappage scheme to help boost Britain’s COVID-19 impacted carmakers may be fading as government insiders believe it would mainly help overseas manufacturers, the aftermarket is still campaigning against the introduction of such a stimulus programme.

You would have to go back to 1946 to find a May where UK car production was as low as in 2020, according to the latest figures released today (Friday 26 June) by the SMMT.

 LKQ Corporation, parent company of LKQ Euro Car Parts, says it has come through the COVID-19 crisis ahead of its own expectations.