ADAS trends to note in 2024

Technology within vehicles and tools is constantly evolving, so with this in mind Tyres & Accessories recently connected with Phil Peace, managing director of Repairify, to find what trends readers should be aware of.

“New market trends provide business opportunities, generating sales avenues that no business should want to miss out on”, Phil Peace explained, continuing: “For me…there are two key trends that owners, managers and those people working on the shop floor will need to be aware of in 2024.

“The first is the diversification of services. It is all well and good having ‘set services’ but it is important that businesses create new revenue streams, and this can be done by targeting ‘new’ vehicles that are fitted with ADAS features as standard. ADAS has been really prevalent now in new vehicles for 4 to 5 years, so we are seeing vehicle exit warranty periods with these features. These vehicles are no longer being serviced by a franchised dealer and will have ADAS features that need calibrating.

“An example of this is that the wheel alignment on certain manufacturers’ models will require an ADAS reset and calibration. New RADARS and parts will also need to be fitted and calibrated correctly, and components will need programming. With these new services, technicians need to be aware of and understand the ADAS features that are prominent on these vehicles and employ the most appropriate tools that are required to calibrate them, which brings us nicely to the second trend – training.

Training needs inevitable effect of ADAS take-up

The second trend is training. “The constant evolution of technology within the vehicles, the growth of ADAS features and the introduction of secure gateways are leading to more vehicles requiring diagnostics, calibration and programming with OEM tools. Using these tools requires a certain knowledge and skillset, which is why it is important that businesses, no matter their size, invest in training.

“This is where Repairify can help because we have invested heavily in training programs for our technicians to enable them to be qualified to support our customers. We also advocate and support the training and upskilling of our customers workforces by training them in our technology (and ultimately vehicle technology).

“The reason we have done this is because we know that the training equips the technicians, whether they are an apprentice or a veteran within the industry with the required knowledge and skills to keep pace with the ever-evolving work that comes onto the workshop floor and the technology within the vehicles that are coming off the production line. In addition, the benefits we have seen from businesses that have undergone training are that they keep diagnostics and calibrations jobs in-house and avoid outsourcing them unnecessarily, so key-to-key times are reduced.”

Overall, if businesses keep an eye on these two key trends it should help them in the short, medium and long term because the vehicle parc is changing and the march towards ADAS and increasingly autonomous vehicles is not going to go in reverse.