This summer, repairers are navigating an already demanding environment shaped by rising vehicle complexity, ongoing skills shortages, fluctuating parts availability and increasing customer expectations. All whilst managing reduced workforce capacity as employees take annual leave and vehicle owners prepare for holiday journeys across the UK and Europe.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the average age of vehicles on UK roads has now reached a record 9.5 years. With more than 43 million vehicles currently in use, and as the nation’s vehicle parc continues to grow and age simultaneously, repair demand remains consistently high, even during traditionally quieter seasonal periods.
As for summer, well, that’s sure to bring with it a significant spike in demand. As millions of motorists prepare for staycations, family holidays and long-distance road trips, vehicle usage and the likelihood of breakdowns, wear and tear and collision damage all increase
At the same time, repairers are often operating with reduced staffing levels due to annual leave across the summertime too. This creates the perfect storm of higher customer demand, tighter workshop capacity and increasing pressure to deliver repairs quickly without compromising on quality.
Combine all this with ongoing challenges surrounding vehicle complexity, parts availability and rising customer expectations, and it’s easy to see why the summer months can become one of the busiest and most demanding periods of the year for the repair sector.
A balancing act between demand and reduced workforce availability
One of the most immediate pressures during the summer months is workforce availability. Whilst of course, annual leave is an essential part of maintaining employee wellbeing, workshops often find themselves operating with reduced capacity over the summer months, making it somewhat difficult when demand remains largely unchanged.
According to the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), the UK automotive sector continues to face a significant skills shortage, with tens of thousands of vacancies expected to emerge over the coming years as technological advancements increase demand for highly skilled technicians.
But rather than easing during the summer, these shortages can become even more noticeable as businesses attempt to balance holiday rotas without extending repair lead times. As a result, this creates a delicate balancing act for many repairers, between maintaining productivity, protecting employee wellbeing and continuing to meet customer expectations.
Which brings us on to…
The fact that customers expect faster repairs than ever
Summer also brings changing customer behaviours, whereby families preparing for holidays, businesses managing fleet availability and motorists planning longer journeys are naturally more conscious of getting their vehicles repaired quickly, particularly if travel plans are already booked.
At the same time, customer expectations around communication have never been higher, especially as consumers increasingly expect the same visibility and real-time updates they receive when tracking online purchases. This makes transparency throughout the repair journey almost as important as the repair itself.
In fact, according to Thatcham Research, increasing vehicle complexity has contributed significantly to rising repair costs, with average repair expenses increasing by around 50% since 2019 as advanced safety systems, electrification and sophisticated electronics require additional repair expertise and calibration.
In turn, this means that repairs become more technically demanding, maintaining both speed and quality becomes increasingly difficult.
Vehicle technology continues to reshape repair processes
Modern vehicles are significantly more complex than those entering workshops just a decade ago, particularly as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), connected vehicle technologies, high-voltage electric vehicle components and increasingly sophisticated sensor networks mean that even relatively minor collisions can require extensive diagnostic procedures before repairs can be completed.
Thatcham Research, in fact, state that modern vehicles now contain thousands of semiconductors, whilst the growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) continues to increase reliance on specialist components, many of which remain dependent on international supply chains.
This means also that successful repairs are no longer measured purely by panel replacement or paint quality. Now, calibration, diagnostics, software updates and manufacturer repair procedures also form an essential part of the repair process, increasing both repair complexity and workshop planning requirements.
Parts availability remains unpredictable
Whilst global supply chains have stabilised considerably compared to that during the pandemic, parts availability continues to present challenges across the repair sector, largely thanks to international shipping disruption, ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and fluctuating manufacturing output. All of which continues to influence lead times for certain specialist components, particularly electronic modules, sensors and electric vehicle parts.
According to the SMMT, UK automotive businesses continue to report supply chain disruption affecting production and aftermarket operations, whilst many manufacturers remain focused on improving supply chain resilience following several years of global instability.
As a result, this means that even a relatively short delay in sourcing a critical component can extend repair cycles considerably throughout the summer period, creating additional pressure on workshop scheduling, courtesy vehicle availability and customer satisfaction.
Seasonal conditions bring their own repair challenges
The Department for Transport (DfT) highlight that summertime is consistently one of the busiest periods for road traffic across England, with millions of additional leisure journeys taking place during school holiday periods.
As a result, the increased vehicle usage naturally creates greater demand for both accident repairs and routine maintenance. Though the warmer weather itself can also influence repair demand in ways that are often overlooked, as higher temperatures can place additional strain on cooling systems, batteries and tyres too.
As well as this, heatwaves can also create operational challenges within workshops themselves, often affecting employee comfort, paint application conditions and productivity where facilities are not adequately climate controlled – something which more recently, repairers are seeing much more of as temperatures continue to spike each year throughout the UK, and yellow, amber and red heat health alerts are issued.
Visibility has become a competitive advantage
With so many variables influencing repair performance, visibility across the repair journey has never been more valuable. It means that repairers increasingly require accurate estimating, real-time repair status information and greater transparency across every stage of the process to identify potential delays before they impact customers.
Whilst yes, many of the challenges facing repairers this summer are seasonal, they also reflect much broader changes taking place across the automotive industry too. So rather than simply reacting to disruption, many organisations are choosing to actively invest in digital solutions that improve planning, support more informed decision-making and enable closer collaboration between repairers, insurers and work providers.
That’s where GT Motive comes in.
Our job is to help repairers, insurers and work providers gain greater control over the repair journey through smarter estimating, improved visibility and connected digital solutions that support faster, more informed decision-making.
Keen to find out how we do it?