The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) has called on the UK Government to licence the automotive retail sector, as new consumer research shows an underlying ignorance about the qualifications required for anyone to work on a motor vehicle.
More than 70% of motorists surveyed by the IMI said they believed anyone working on a car commercially would have a licence to do so.
However, there is currently no regulation on individuals in the motor industry. Almost 60% of drivers said they wouldn’t let anyone work on their car that didn’t know what they were doing, but only 10% knew how to check a technician’s qualifications.
IMI said consumers were unaware of how vulnerable they are.
Steve Nash, CEO of the IMI said, “The majority of motorists choose a garage or mechanic without sufficient information to verify their competence to do the job. And this is a serious cause for concern as data from Brake, the road safety charity, reported that there were over 3,000 crashes in Britain were caused by vehicle defects as a result of inadequate maintenance in 2011.
“The proliferation of hybrid vehicles and complex driver assist systems has already increased the skills requirements for effective and safe working on modern vehicles. But currently there is no industry-wide licence in place to ensure service technicians are properly qualified. And without the proper training, car mechanics are increasingly putting themselves and motorists at risk.
“The template for licensing already exists IMI Accreditation and our Professional Register, so there is no excuse for the Government to delay.
“Yet, by our calculations there are 148,000 mechanics whose skills and current competence we cannot verify. It is vital that this issue is addressed as quickly as possible.”
The IMI study of 2,600 British driving licence holders showed a level of confusion regarding the current regulations.
According to the IMI, 90% of the trade in favour of licensing.
It has also received the ‘in principle’ support of several major companies and organisations including REMIT, AutoGlass, Inchcape UK, John Clarke Motor Group and TrustFord.