Garage Support Newsletter 7 ROI 2021

GARAGE SUPPORT Supporting you and your business

2021 Edition 7

What’s inside?

⊲ Big changes for Auto Education Academy ⊲ Take a look at our new product ranges from Starline ⊲ Take a look at our ‘In the news’ pages for the must know industry information ⊲ And loads more!

Call your local branch now!

BOOST YOUR BUSINESS with learning and development

AutoEducation Academy is going through some exciting changes! As of October it will become LKQ Academy.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT? Along with the name change, you will see a fresh look and feel from our new training management system as well as even more training courses, both face to face and online! The LKQ Academy platform will hold everything in one place, so you can keep track of your training progress and results. It even provides a free course entrance test to understand where your knowledge sits to find the best course to suit your needs.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO? Nothing is changing overnight so for now you can continue to use the Auto Education Academy platform in the usual way, booking courses through their normal methods. You will receive an email when the new portal is up and running.

To find out more and register on to the new LKQ Academy email training@eurocarparts.com

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ARE YOU HYBRID AND EV READY? By 2030 new petrol and diesel vehicles will stop being sold in the UK under the government commitment to reduce emissions. Its is predicted that by then there will be 10million hybrid and electric vehicles on the roads in the UK and Ireland.

ARE YOU READY FOR THAT DEMAND? Only 5% of technicians across the UK and Ireland are trained to work on these types of vehicles safely, that leaves a huge opportunity for your business. The UK will need 7000+ hybrid and electric technicians each year for the next 10 years to keep up with the rise in sales, so why not upskill and be amongst the few technicians that have a hybrid qualification.

LEVEL 2 AND 3 HYBRID AND ELECTRIC VEHICLE ROUTINE MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES, SYSTEM REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT 263773020 14 IMI CREDITS Our level 2 and 3 hybrid and EV course is a 2 day comprehensive training that is specifically designed to cover all aspects of hybrid and electric vehicle technology from basic procedures around safely handling high voltage systems through to content that looks in depth at how the propulsion and re-generation system is controlled. Other subjects covered include high voltage air-conditioning compressors, DC-DC converters, PTC heater assemblies along with high pressure hydraulic braking systems and the management between conventional braking and regeneration braking balance.

LEVEL 2: This course is specifically designed towards a person that maybe required to work on an electrically propelled/hybrid vehicle and in particular the safety procedures and requirements of these types of technologies. This course is suitable for technicians carrying out routine maintenance and repairs in or around electrical/hybrid propulsion systems and will enable the delegate to have an understanding of the construction, function and layout of these types of vehicles along with the methods to ensure the systems are safe to work on the to minimise the risks to self and others.

LEVEL 3: This course is specifically designed to cover all aspects of hybrid/electrically propelled technology. Covering the basic procedures of safety in handling high voltage systems through to content that looks at in depth on how the propulsion and re-generation system is controlled. Along with the management of the inverter power unit, a thorough understanding of battery management and how information is used to maximize the efficiency of the system will be gained. Other subjects covered include high voltage air conditioning compressors, DC-DC converters, PTC heater assemblies along with high pressure hydraulic braking systems and the management between conventional braking and regeneration braking balance. Suitable for technicians carrying out repairs and replacement of hybrid/electrically propelled HV components.

BOOK NOW BY CALLING +44 1827 838632.

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How to promote

We have created a series of helpful support guides to use in your business to help you stand out from your competitors.

Are you struggling to retain your customers?

Are you advertising your business efficiently?

Do you want to attract new customers?

The importance of telephone contact

Having the perfect customer database is great, are you using it the right way? We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again; having an up-to-date customer database is crucial for keeping on top of work, helping you to keep track of customer’s historical visits and when they might next be due a service or even new brake pads and discs.

Aside from talking to someone face-to- face, a phone call is often the best way to get an instant response. Reaching out customers by phone, and remind them their service is due soon, ask them if they want to get booked in. Chances are their annual service hasn’t crossed their mind yet so the likelihood is they will book there and then.

Social media helps you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand and boost your leads and sales. Choosing the right platform for you

Instagram For those who like to share more video and image content, that will engage their

Facebook Is one of the most widely used

platforms and is great for users to create business pages where customers can leave reviews, view a business’ opening hours, or get in contact. Facebook is also a great place to get recommendations, make sure you are a member of local groups where you can recommend your business to customers looking for repairs.

audience, or sell a certain product. If your garage likes to make cleaning videos or even before and after pictures of car restorations, Instagrammight be a good place for your garage to start. Just keep in mind that Instagram is generally targeted at a younger audience, so if you are targeting customers between 17 and 34, this could be for you.

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e your business

Twitter If you’re new to the social media world, we wouldn’t recommend starting on Twitter, but it can be a great place for your

YouTube A video sharing network, where you can upload videos that engage with your desired audience. Many YouTube

business to share short updates. Twitter is a micro- blogging platform where users can share short ‘tweets’ of information. It’s best used for live news, trending topics and interacting with brands. It’s also a very common platform for customers to complain, tweeting their bad experiences with brands.

users are now ‘vlogging’ (video blogging), their days which usually have some entertaining content throughout. For a garage, popular videos could include car cleaning demonstrational video, product review, or a process for repairing a certain part of a vehicle.

LinkedIn A professional social network that can be used to build brand awareness and reach out to industry professionals, also a great platform for recruitment.

OmniHub Head over to Omnihub https://omnipart.eurocarparts.com/omnihub/ garage-support/getting-the-cars-in/support-guides

And when you’ve chosen the right platform for you…

■ Try and focus on one or two social channels , to avoid getting bogged down. By focusing on just a couple you can really perfect your posts and ensure you’re responding quickly to any messages or interactions on your pages, and in turn keep customer satisfaction levels high. ■ Consider where your target audience will be spending the most time , for example if you are keen to target a younger audience through engaging pictures or videos, then Instagram would be the best to focus your own content. ■ What platforms do your competitors have? Do a competitor analysis and have a look at what your local garages are using, make that your starting point. ■ Use correct image sizes for each channel. Check the recommended image sizes for each platform and size your images appropriately. Make

sure your images are as clear as possible, without stretching or pixelating. This will help your brand look more professional and may help improve engagement of your content. ■ Clear and concise with call to action. The shorter and snappier your content, the better. On social media, you have no longer than 8 seconds of someone’s attention when they are scrolling through their newsfeed, so make it short and to the point. Always leave a call to action on your posts, so people can book in, view your website or buy a product you might have mentioned in your post. ■ Post at the best times. Look into the best times to post on each platform. Timing matters, and by posting at the suggested times, you have more chance of your content being seen, increasing your engagement rates and in turn increasing work for your garage!

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Starline New Product Introduction Electrics

Electrics With a comprehensive range of Electrical components coming to cover most vehicles in the car parc, we have added another layer of product to the Starline brand, making it the easy choice to offer our customers. With Ignition Coils coming first, these cover: Block Ignition Coils

HAAS is changing to Starline Why the change?

As part of our ongoing LKQ European Component Brand initiatives to streamline our brand offering, we are taking the steps to move products into some of our bigger component brands. What’s moving? In April 2021, the HAAS range is going to move into the Starline family What does this mean? Once HAAS is sold through it will automatically switch to Starline. Introducing Starline will mean improved research and development and improved quality of products for our customers. By moving HAAS into Starline, means we will grow our Starline brand share and give a more consistent aftermarket offering to our customers. How will we communicate to customers? We will communicate to customers about our new product in Starline ultising the following channels: PR and Social Media Websites Garage Support Newsletter Trade Emails Since 1999 the Starline brand has been at the forefront of the automotive industry, supplying high quality product at affordable prices for the workshop. The Starline brand has been distributed throughout the UK and Europe for many years gaining the reputation as the go to product for the workshop, with over 35,000 products within its range it covers over 90% of spare parts for passenger vehicles. With millions of products supplied every year – production of Starline parts are manufactured to the highest of standards, in line with OE processes and using the best materials and equipment. The Starline brand is constantly evolving, adding new product ranges, and updating existing products. Never standing still, we have also moved our branding forward and given it a new visual concept that translates all over Europe. New Editions to the Starline portfolio This year sees the inclusion of some great New Product into the Starline brand, the Starline ethos is simple – Automotive Solution, by adding Electrics Starline’s product portfolio continues to grow.

Pencil/Plug on Ignition Coils Cassette/Rail Ignition Coils

With over 225 SKU’s and rising for Ignition Coils, the Starline range is constantly developing and adding part numbers to keep us up to date. Like all Starline products these are competitively priced and rigorously tested.

Range at a glance:

PG 413 424 419 441 434 710 224 409 461 420 494 464 403 223 465 415 466 225 421 468 725 418 423 436 450 452 455 462

PG Name

No SKU’s

IGNITION COILS

143

SECONDARY AIR PUMP

80 75 74 54

ENGINE SENSOR

ELECTRIC FUEL PUMP AIR FLOW METERS

LAMBDA SENSOR

51

TEMPERATURE SWITCH

26 22

IGNITION LEAD

INDICATOR/WIPER/HEADLAMP SWITCH

16 13 12 10

MAP SENSOR SPEED SENSOR

BRAKE LIGHT SWITCHES

DISTRIBUTOR

6 5 5 4 4 3 2 2

RADIATOR FAN SWITCH REVERSE LIGHT SWITCH

IGNITION MODULE

OIL PRESSURE SWITCH COOLANT SENSOR

ACCELERATOR PEDAL SENSOR FUEL TANK SENDER UNITS

DPF SENSOR

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

HALL SENDER UNITS

INTAKE AIR TEMPERATURE SENSORS

IDLE CONTROL VALVE

RELAYS

FLASHER RELAYS AIR FLOW METERS

HAZARD WARNING LIGHT SWITCHES

This range of Electrics will start to filter into stock this April, meaning you can start to offer these to our customers with confidence as a true branded alternative.

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Starline

New Product Introduction Wiper blades

Starline wiper blades: seeing your way clear

Why Starline? Every vehicle on the road has a set of wiper blades fitted which need replacing regularly. We estimate around 15 million wiper blades are sold every year in the aftermarket. This means there’s a big opportunity to take market share in this category, because not every vehicle owner will want to a premium OE brand fitted. Starline has been successful in steering and suspension categories, and now it’s time to introduce their other categories, starting with wiper blades. How does this benefit our garage customers? Choice. Every car owner wants it, depending on their budget. Garages can use this to their advantage; being able to offer between two brands (Starline and another) means vehicle owners feel empowered when it comes to their cars, and their wallet. What makes Starline so great? Why should our customers make the switch? In the world of wiper blades, there are two facts that aren’t widely known: ⊲ Bosch owns ‘adaptor patents’ enclosed in their single flat wiper blades giving them 96% car parc coverage with five adaptors. At LKQ Euro Car Parts, we have an approval under a ‘co-licensed agreement’ to use this ‘adaptor patent’ in our Starline range of wiper blades. No other brand can make this claim ⊲ Valeo and Bosch has the widest range coverage in direct fit wiper blade replacement sets. The Starline range has been developed in line with the Bosch and Valeo Silencio ranges. This means our Starline range is based on the best of two major OE player technologies in the market. It’s the best of both worlds, packaged up to make one superior brand. But the cherry on top of the wiper blade sundae is that Starline is much more affordable. Our garage customers can continue to offer quality made products, at much more reasonable costs. What’s not to love? Starline wiper blades are quality tested and assured, so garage customers can fit them with confidence, using a quality product at the right price every time.

Range overview ⊲ Front conventional (universal) wiper blades – singles ⊲ Rear conventional wiper blades - singles ⊲ Front flat blades (5 patented adaptors) – singles ⊲ Flat direct fit sets ⊲ Rear flat blades – single.

We offer a comprehensive range of conventional and flat wipers.

Starline wind screen wipers offer the most extensive range on the market so customers can choose flat windscreen wipers with 5 adapters included or a conventional version. This wide range, including sets which cover applications for 96% of passenger and utility vehicles, includes both flat and universal blades. Our range of wipers are comprised of a thick A-grade coated rubber to ensure a clean sweep and durability. The durability is tested up to 500,000 cycles/12 Months. The extras you need to know: ⊲ A large portion of the Starline stock is now available in the network. ⊲ Customers will start seeing Starline wipers promoted on a number of our communication channels including our social media pages, websites, in our Garage Support newsletters and trade emails ⊲ Vista Pro Wiper blades will be discontinued and Starline will replace them.

Where is Starline positioned in the marketplace?

TOP

MID

ENTRY

Scan this code to find out how to fit the latest Starline wipers

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Get a Clear View

Check Replace Drive Use our traffic light

As the weather gets worse through the winter period, some vehicles will start to pick up faults, one of which is faulty wipers. Wipers generally only last a season before they will need changing. As winter brings difficult driving conditions and unpredictable weather, motorist rely on their wipers more and more. By identifying faulty wipers when a customer’s vehicle is in your workshop, not you are providing a great service which promotes customer loyalty, you are securing an additional revenue stream now and on future work. Statistics say that, 1 in 2 vehicles that enter your workshop will need wipers replacing. To test and fit new wiper blades to a vehicle should only take 5 minutes, and the benefits of such quick task can be huge. When to replace wiper blades We advise wiper blades to be changed every 6 to 12 months to ensure maximum vision through the windscreen.

system to help assess the current condition of your wiper blades

REGULAR WIPER BLADE CHECKS ENSURE THE SAFETY OF YOUR CUSTOMERS AND THEIR PASSENGERS.

CHANGE

PLAN TO CHANGE

OK

■ More than 3 constant streaks in the outer 1/6 of the windscreen ■ 1 or more streaks in the centre 2/3 of the windscreen

■ No streaks in the centre 2/3 of the windscreen ■ No more than 3 streaks in the outer 1/6 of the windscreen

■ Wiper blade leaving water patches on the screen ■ Cracked, split or missing rubber from the wiper blade ■ Squeaking and juddering when wiping

Don’t forget to check the rear wiper too

Always available:

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Modern vehicles place highest performance requirements on the battery, which go far beyond simply starting the vehicle. Nowadays, numerous servomotors, safety elements and comfort consumers require a battery that is as powerful as it is safe. As more and more vehicle manufacturers produce vehicles with a Start Stop option, being able to offer an aftermarket solution to your customer base is vital. The market place is seeing a shift in battery sales from standard batteries to Start Stop and it’s predicted that by 2025 that 80% of all new vehicles will have Start Stop technology. We recommend finding out more about this technology and start to embrace the future creating new revenue streams for your workshop. ERA Start Stop Batteries

OE manufactured OE

START STOP

High Performance Grid

Start Stop

Large Car Parc Coverage

Highest Safety Features

Made in Europe

Why ERA Start Stop batteries It is therefore more than reassuring to know that ERA starter batteries offer maximum starting comfort in every situation. With sophisticated technology and innovative details, ERA offers tailormade solutions for individual mobility: ■ ERA AGM batteries, for maximum performance in modern vehicles with extended Start Stop systems and middle and upper class vehicles with highest energy requirements due to a large number of additional consumers ■ ERA EFB batteries, for strong performance in entry-level Start Stop systems and vehicles with high energy requirements due to additional consumers

The ERA Quality Promise ■ 3 years warranty ■ 100% OE-Quality ■ Made in Europe ■ In accordance with the European battery norm EN50342 ■ Latest Calcium Ca/Ca technology ■ Maintenance free, with leak protection

Green Power Initiative – our contribution for a more sustainable future ■ “Zero Waste Principle” – almost 100% recyclable

■ Modern production environment: High material & energy efficiency,

top priority on employee safety & protection ■ Lean ecological footprint: Made in Europe

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In the

Though little known outside the motor industry, the EU’s Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulations (MVBER) perform a critical role in supporting the health of the independent automotive aftermarket and giving drivers choice, including in the UK as the legislation carried over post-Brexit. At their heart are various protections that enable independent parts manufacturers to provide alternatives to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), and for independent garages to compete with franchised dealerships. The current MVBER period expires in 2023 and while the European Commission is consulting the industry on what should replace it, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority is yet to get going. But already, even though the current MVBER still stand, a lack of enforcement, combined with rapid technological progress in the automotive sector, is eroding the protection it provides.

Tricks of the trade There is a worrying increase of other anti-competitive practices, too. OEMs continue to withhold bulk Repair and Maintenance Information (RMI) from the independent sector, despite being legally obliged to do so since September last year. This impedes diagnostic tools manufacturers and automotive data publishers from creating products and solutions for new vehicles. And its knock-on effect is to restrict product choice to OEM branded parts alone. Independent garages are sometimes unable to update online service records, which are stored on OEMs’ private servers. This is clearly off-putting for car owners looking to keep a full history. Often, drivers are wrongly told that their warranties have been invalidated because a service wasn’t carried out by a franchised dealer, or because it used non-OEM brand parts. It’s also common for OEMs to strong-arm dealerships into only using their branded parts, despite MVBER guaranteeing choice. Sadly, most transgressions like this and the slow captive parts monopolies that have emerged in recent years have gone unpunished by European or national authorities. And the prospect of a legal battle between the UK’s army of SME independent businesses and the global automotive giants makes David and Goliath seem trivial.

Andy Hamilton, CEO, LKQ Euro Car Parts If you work in the independent aftermarket and have experience of the examples of anti-competitive behaviour mentioned above, then UKAFCAR wants to hear from you. And if your business wants to join this expanding coalition then the same applies. We hope that by presenting more and more compelling evidence of the abuse of MVBER to regulators today, we can safeguard it and improve it for tomorrow.

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News

Workshops, your industry needs you Unless MVBER is tightened and statutory bodies given the tools and teeth to enforce it, then the UK’s 30,000 independent workshops and their 350,000-strong workforce face an existential threat. Allowing MVBER to further dilute and fail would represent the advent of monopoly power in the aftermarket, reducing choice and driving up prices for consumers held to ransom. Independent garages consistently rank higher for customer satisfaction than the franchised dealers, offering a local ‘all-makes’ service at a competitive price – critically, which can be flexed depending on the parts the driver is comfortable paying for. We are working hard to lobby both the CMA and the European Commission over the future of MVBER, helping to establish the UK arm of AFCAR, the European- wide Association for the Freedom of Car Repair. This

is a federation of associations and commercial organisations formed to lobby on Block Exemption and other key issues such as telematics data access and cybersecurity. If you work in the independent aftermarket and have experience of the examples of anti- competitive behaviour I’ve mentioned here, then UKAFCAR wants to hear from you. And if your business wants to join this expanding coalition then the same applies. We hope that by presenting more and more compelling evidence of the abuse of MVBER to regulators today, we can safeguard it and improve it for tomorrow.

The growth of ‘captive’ parts This erosion is especially visible in the growth of so-called ‘captive’ parts, as more and more parts are removed from the competitive arenas created by MVBER. OEMs are designing systems and products that lock-out third parties, and this practice is especially prevalent in newer areas of technology, like electric vehicles and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). This includes practices such as developing codes or software integral to the functioning of a part, but only issued by the OEM - even if the part was developed and made by a major aftermarket supplier such as Bosch. The result is mini-monopolies – where independent garages are locked out of repairing and servicing vehicles, and where OEMs can effectively charge what they wish.

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KILLER BY NIGHT

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NIGHT BREAKER PLUS

ULTRA LIFE

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3x LIFETIME OF A CONVENTIONAL BULB

⊲ 90% more light ⊲ 35m longer beam ⊲ 10% whiter light

SILVERSTAR ⊲ 50% more light ⊲ 20m longer beam

OSRAM App for iPhone and Android now available Which lamps do you need for your vehicle? Scan this to download

We reserve the right to amend/withdraw any offer in any way and at any time without compensation. E & O prices exclude VAT. Trade only. Not to be used in conjunction with any other offers. Copyright © 2021 Euro Car Parts.

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