The Government has announced another lockdown for England commencing on Thursday 5th November 2020. During the previous lockdown industries across the board were affected by the national restrictions and garages closed across the country, in great part due to a near 5-month suspension of MOTs. So, how will the new restrictions affect the aftermarket this time?
Garages are not required to close during lockdown. The aftermarket has been assigned ‘key worker’ status as it keeps vehicles on the road. This was not made clear in April, with many garages closing due to a lack of work and the Government announcing the postponement of MOTs.
As a result of the delay in MOTs, repair garages are expected to be very busy throughout quarter 4 of 2020. A record 18 million MOTs are legally required to take place in this time, as opposed to the usual 12 million. Additionally, the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation reports that 70% of repair work comes from annual MOT vehicle safety inspections.
Miles driven overall will most likely decline further, however the drop is not expected to be as sharp as in April. This is due to many businesses and institutions remaining open, for example schools and takeaways. It is anticipated that the online sales boom will continue and that supermarkets will be busier than ever. As a result of this, critical supply chain and delivery vehicles will be on the road in greater numbers as even more capacity is added to these channels.
Garages and Auto-Factors will need ongoing support and service as our industry remains open. Klarius is prepared to meet the demands of the aftermarket and provide essential support to the industry, as with the last lockdown we will remain open. Mark Brickhill, CEO at Klarius, comments “Our product availability is excellent, we continue to have the widest range in the UK and have launched new products throughout the pandemic.”
Klarius offers a range of 11,000+ emissions control parts and components that match OEM performance levels. They are designed to fit vehicles of almost any type and age. Mark continues “Every component features a 2-year warranty and Fit First Time guarantee. We make this possible by fitting new parts to real cars during our development and testing process. Given the record spike in MOT testing this means less time on the ramp for our garage customers. None of our UK exhaust competitors independently test and certify their parts on vehicles with the Department for Transport’s Vehicle Certification Agency.” 90% of all orders received by 5:30pm will be delivered before 12pm the next morning, 60% of which may be delivered by 9am.
