Automotive News Canada - August 2022 - 16

16
* AUGUST 2022
Fix-ops at odds
with EVs, unless . . .
Repair needs will shrink,
so dealerships need to
stress customer loyalty
to retain their business
over the long haul
By STEVE MERTL
VANCOUVER CORRESPONDENT
AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ARE SEEING
early evidence that electric vehicles
will change the service landscape and
the way they compete with independent
shops.
With fewer major moving parts - no
pistons, crankshafts, valvetrains or multispeed
transmissions - EVs are expected
to spend less
time in service
bays for maintenance
or repair.
That means dealers
will have to
adopt fresh stratELECTRIC
VEHICLE
SPOTLIGHT
egies to keep that business once EV warranties
expire.
" Generally speaking, our mission to
dealers is to reduce the focus on dollars
per visit and increase the focus on retention, "
said Andrew Harkness, Nissan
Canada's director of aftersales and quality
assurance.
Dealers such as suburban Vancouver's
Morrey Nissan, which has sold the
Nissan Leaf EV since its 2011 launch,
have absorbed that message.
" There's no doubt we're going to have
to pivot, like we are in every corner of
our business, into operating in different
ways, " General Manager Jarrett Morrey
told Automotive News Canada.
LESS TIME IN THE SHOP
Although only a small percentage of
vehicles on the road are electric, predictions
that they will make fewer
and less costly shop visits are being
borne out, said Tim Reuss, president
Nissan's experience with the Leaf EV
suggests customers want dealerships
to service their vehicles as opposed to
going to the aftermarket. PHOTO; NISSAN
of the Canadian Automobile Dealers
Association (CADA), which represents
3,200 franchised dealerships.
Anecdotal feedback from dealers in
British Columbia and Quebec is reinforced
by data compiled by U.S.-based
Consumer Reports. A 2020 study based on
surveys of U.S. and Canadian EV owners
found that EVs and plug-in hybrids had
50-per-cent lower average lifetime repair
and maintenance costs per mile compared
with internal combustion engine
(ICE) vehicles.
" Generally, consumers are going to
wind up saving money when it comes
to repair and maintenance, " said Jake
Fisher, Consumer Reports' senior director
of automotive testing.
" Long term, all things being equal,
electric vehicles are going to be much
better when it comes to problems and
repair. "
That squares with Harkness's experience
so far with the Leaf. Dealers normally
see the Leaf once a year, " sometimes
less, " though some come in to have winter
tires mounted, he said.
LEAF LOYALTY
But Harkness and others said that
fixed-ops managers should not be
alarmed. With the Leaf, for example, total
customer retention over 10 years is about
the same as for ICE vehicles, he said.
" We'll get a little less of the business
Fisher: " All things being equal,
electric vehicles are going to be
much better when it comes to
problems and repair. "
SUPPLIED PHOTO
upfront, " Harkness said, referring to an
EV's longer service intervals. " But we'll
get the customer a little later in life when
they require a little bit more repair as
the vehicle ages. "
CADA's Reuss agrees, noting that most
owners seem to prefer returning to the
dealership for ongoing service, at least
for now.
" The overall impact on those dealerships
is neutral, if not positive,
because what they are not getting
on a per-unit basis, they are
getting because every single EV
is coming back to them, " he said.
Dealer Morrey echoed that
view.
" With the Leaf specifically
to date, we've experienced a
high, high amount of loyalty.
Retention is strong because for
sure the consumer's relying on
the dealer to manage and help
with all aspects of the vehicle, as
opposed to going aftermarket. "
Independent shops will expect
to compete for that business
eventually as EVs age, said JeanFrançois
Champagne, president
of the Automotive Industries
Association, which represents
the aftermarket.
electric door handles.
EV dealers recognize this and are making
efforts to persuade customers that
a dealer service bay is the best place if
things go wrong, Reuss said.
The message to Nissan's customers,
Harkness said, is " we built your vehicle,
we know it best. "
For instance, a dealer service adviser
can educate owners about the effects
of regenerative braking on EV
rear brakes, which are vulnerable
to rust and corrosion from
underuse. Nissan also offers lifetime
free battery checks.
" That encourages customers
to come in and get full details
on the health of the battery, "
Harkness said.
Harkness:
Dealers
normally see
the Nissan Leaf
once a year,
" sometimes
less. "
SUPPLIED PHOTO
" Survey after survey shows Canadians
want to have options. "
WE BUILT IT, WE KNOW IT
Consumer Reports finds EVs among
the least reliable vehicles, said Fisher,
" not because of their electric powertrains
but because of the other componentry
that they put in these vehicles, " such as
The overall service retention
rate for all Nissan vehicles is
only about 50 per cent, he said.
Dealers need to be more " attractive,
trustworthy and transparent "
to cement relationships
over a vehicle's life cycle.
" With EVs, it becomes even
more important, because [customers]
have less and less reasons
in the first few years to
come back, " Harkness said.
" They stray far from the original dealership,
and that's it. We want to give them
reasons to come back. "
That means being proactive, said
Morrey, offering complimentary services
in hopes customers return when their
EVs needs care.
" Before, " he said, " we relied on them
to come to us, and we engaged at that
point. " - ANC
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LEADERSHIP
ANNOUNCEMENT
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See listings and post your own: canada.autonews.com/people
Canadian plant will
receive US $2M to
retool in support
of Tigershark
hybrid powertrain
By VINCE BOND JR.
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
STELLANTIS' CASTING
plant in Etobicoke, Ont., is
among three plants to share a
US $99-million investment to
produce a new 1.4-litre turbocharged
engine that has " flexibility
for hybrid-electric-vehicle
applications. "
On Aug. 1, the automaker
said it is also making the
investments at its Dundee
Engine Complex in Michigan
and Kokomo Casting Plant in
Indiana.
The next-generation I-4
Tigershark engine will power
two future hybrid models in
North America and will be
the first hybrid engine for
the company in the region,
Stellantis said. Production
is expected to begin in early
2025.
Stellantis is putting US
$83 million into the Dundee
Engine Complex, which
will be retooled to function
as the final assembly location
for the new engine.
The company said Dundee
will continue production
of the 3.6-litre Pentastar
upgrade engine for the Jeep
Grand Cherokee and Jeep
Grand Cherokee L SUVs.
Production of the current 2.4litre
Tigershark engine at
the plant will end in the first
quarter of 2023.
The engine blocks will be
cast at the Kokomo plant,
where more than US $14 million
will be spent to convert
existing die-cast machines
and cells for the new engine.
Etobicoke Casting will produce
the oil pan for the new
engine. Stellantis is investing
nearly US $2 million into the
plant to support the development
and installation of new
tooling and equipment.
Stellantis said the investments
support its Dare
Forward 2030 strategic plan of
delivering innovative, clean,
safe and affordable mobility.
In May, the company
announced it would spend $3.6
billion on its Ontario plants
in Windsor and Brampton
to build electrified vehicles,
and expand its research and
development operations in
Windsor. In March, Stellantis,
in conjunction with LG
Energy Solution, announced
plans to build a $5-billion battery
plant in Windsor. - ANC
http://canada.autonews.com/people
Automotive News Canada - August 2022

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