december2022 - 15

COVER STORY
ELECTRIC VEHICLES -
Coming to a
shop near you
Help your customers identify what tools
and equipment are best for them to buy
as the number of electric vehicles on the
road continues to increase.
By Emily Markham, Associate Editor
E
lectric and hybrid vehicles may not be the most common on the road
right now, but, with more and more vehicle manufacturers making
pledges for fully electric line-ups, that will soon change. As these vehicles
become more commonplace, automotive technicians will need the proper
tooling and equipment to diagnose and repair them.
Mac Tools Distributor, Glen Black, is
already starting to see a slight rise in the
sale of electric vehicles at the dealerships
he visits along his route in Huntsville,
Alabama. Though he does admit, that
along his variety of stops - dealerships,
independent shops, body shops, heavy
equipment, and tractor dealerships -
there isn't much demand for hybrid/
electric vehicle tools and equipment.
However, after 26 and a half years
in the tool-distributing business, Black
understands the automotive industry is
constantly changing and one must always
be prepared for those changes. Black
notes that he's the oldest tool man in this
area by a long shot as far as the years he's
been in business, so in his customers'
eyes, they see him as reliable, dependable,
someone who will show up every week.
When Black had a customer in the
market for an advanced digital multimeter
- the kind a tech needs for work on
electric vehicles - the customer chose to
buy from Black as opposed to the other
companies he was looking at.
Though many of his stops don't work
on hybrid/electric vehicles, Black keeps a
small stock of hybrid/electric tools and
equipment on his truck. He is prepared
to cater to whatever his customers need.
HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS
PREPARE
A report from Zutobi, a driving education
website, states that it is expected
that by 2030 half of all vehicles sold will
be electric. Though other reports vary
stating this number could be anywhere
between 30-60 percent. Regardless, this
will be a significant increase in only eight
years from now. The report also notes
that since 2021, the number of EVs in
the U.S. has gone from around 543,610
to over a million. That's an increase of
87.5 percent, and that number will only
keep growing.
In order to prepare for the onslaught
of EVs coming shops will need to start
purchasing the tools and equipment
necessary for diagnosing and repairing
these vehicles, meaning they'll likely be
turning to their local mobile tool distributors
for help.
Now, you may not be getting questions
about hybrid/electric vehicle
tools and equipment today or tomorrow
or even next month, but they will
come eventually, and you'll want to
be able to discuss all the fine details
surrounding these investments with
your customers.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
As with any purchase a shop makes,
they're going to want to consider
Professional Distributor I December 2022 I VehicleServicePros.com 15
http://www.VehicleServicePros.com
december2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of december2022
