Nick Connor, chief executive officer at the Institute of the Motor Industry, said: “The uplift in new car sales for June is welcome news for the automotive industry, which continues to battle increased costs and the need to invest in skills for new technologies. The acceleration of EV sales will be particularly encouraging. However, it will also ring alarm bells in relation to the overall skills picture for the sector.
“It is widely acknowledged that EV sales are not moving at the pace needed to meet ZEV mandate targets; the sector is pretty much unanimous in calling for a review. But even if that comes it doesn’t address the fact that overall there just aren’t enough qualified technicians to work on all drive trains.
“We’ve easily got another 10-15 years where petrol and diesel vehicles will still represent a significant proportion of the work in any dealership or independent garage, alongside the growing electric vehicle parc. But our own data for June showed there were round 15,000 vacancies with almost three quarters of those for vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians. Currently there are too many people retiring and not enough coming into automotive at the start of their careers.
“We, therefore, need government to urgently understand the safety-critical role of the sector and ensure that automotive is a central part of its industrial strategy. Without coordinated action from government and industry to attract talent into the sector as well as boost investment in the skills needed for new automotive technologies, consumers will face growing wait times for repairs and servicing which will impact all aspects of social and economic infrastructure.”
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