Mechanics upskill for electric era
Electric vehicles will mean no oil changes or spark plugs to replace, fewer parts to maintain and less wear on brakes, hence less need for servicing and repairing your car.
That could mean big changes ahead for the country’s 15,000 motor mechanics, even though Careers NZ is still telling school leavers it’s a ‘‘good’’ career option.
A switch away from individual vehicle ownership towards shareable self-driving EVs could slash the country’s vehicle fleet, some argue to as few as 50,000 vehicles.
But in the short term EVs will require mechanics to have more skills, not less. Britain’s Motor Industry Institute warned in January that unqualified technicians risked electrocution tinkering with EVs.
Janet Lane, chief executive of New Zealand’s Motor Training Industry Association, says it has registered its interest in tapping into a $6 million annual EV fund announced by the Government in May to develop its first EVspecific training for mechanics.
Mike Burvill, who served his apprenticeship with Renault in London and now works at Creswick Garage in the Wellington hill suburb of Northland, says such courses would be popular, though like many in the industry he isn’t expecting ‘‘massive changes straight away’’.
Oxford University engineering professor Malcolm McCulloch told a packed EV symposium in Wellington last month that internal combustion engines would ‘‘not be around’’ in 10 to 15 years.
But Motor Trade Association industry relationship manager Greig Epps argues that in New Zealand ‘‘you have got to be looking at 20 years before EVs are a force to be reckoned with’’.
Part of his reasoning is that Kiwis hang on to their cars for a long time, with the average age of the fleet approaching 14 years. Another factor is that, unlike many countries, the Government offers few incentives for EVs beyond a temporary break on road user charges.
Nor will EVs necessarily mean nothing for mechanics to fix, Epps says, pointing out that cars have been packed out with entertainment and safety features over the past few decades that have nothing to do with their drive trains.
EVs aren’t the only challenge facing the trade, he says. Mechanics are already having to invest more in skills and tools to diagnose faults and service different makes of conventional cars, as more parts become computer-controlled, more complex and proprietary.