1st April 2009

Innovations in Automotive Technology Are Coming

How Many Will Affect You?

By: CARS Council
www.cars-council.ca

According to the brand new research, conducted on behalf of the Canadian Automotive Repair and Service (CARS) Council by Convergence Management Consultants Ltd, about 95 distinct technical innovations will be introduced to the Canadian marketplace over the next three to five years, innovations— that you, as a shop owner, or service technician will need to be able to deal with. “These technologies include hybrid electric and lithium-ion batteries, as well as many that apply to internal combustion engines, and electronics and telematics—onboard computers and electronics for wireless and satellite-based telecommunications” says Ian Gordon, a Principal with Convergence.

Tony Canadé, Chairman of the Canadian Collision Industry Forum and member of the CARS labour market study advisory committee, believes the sheer volume of technological innovations the industry can expect to see in the near future is indicative of how we are “entering a time in which technology itself, and vehicle design technology in particular, is changing at an exponential rate.” He continues, “Where in the past we had slight changes that were introduced gradually, we are now seeing the absolute shrinking of the time lapse in the advancement of technology from concept to design, to market.”

The numbers alone, although informative, do not tell you, as shop owners and technicians, how these vehicle technologies will affect how you do business, or how your business will do over the next three to five years and beyond. For that you need to know more about how many technologies are involved, how widely they will be adopted, and which vehicle systems and ultimately which jobs they will have the most significant impact on.

By mapping the projected level of adoption of these technologies against the estimated knowledge gap of today’s workers, Convergence has suggested “that there are likely to be about 40% of new technologies that are likely to be fairly widely adopted and the associated knowledge gaps will be medium to high.” “We hypothesize at this stage,” says Gordon, “that transformational knowledge upgrading will be required with technologies such as hybrid electric motor power, and lithium-ion batteries, and advanced materials used in vehicle construction. There will likely be some areas where much new knowledge is required, in part because knowledge gaps will remain for specific workers, and partly because some categories of technologies, such as onboard electronics and telematics, will see considerable marketplace adoption.” This confirms Canadé’s belief that it is important to have “the knowledge of what technology and vehicle advancements are being implemented,” and that, “now more than ever, there is a crucial need to be properly trained.”

“Accurate training direction for our industry will be imperative if we are going to continue to be active and competitive in the face of the implementation of alternate fuel sources, with gearless transmissions, the integration of network systems throughout the vehicle, including satellite and Bluetooth communications, and radar based safety equipment,” says Domenic Sgambelluri , the Technical Assistance Operation Manager at the ACDelco Technical Assistance Centre who spends every day at the leading edge of the rapidly changing face of the automotive industry. “Clear direction as to where today’s technicians want or need to get to is vital,” he says, that is why he is encouraging  technicians and employers to “make sure you have your say” when asked for input.

Register to participate in the CARS national labour market survey at www.carssurvey.ca.