WITH official restore and servicing {qualifications} solely now rising as car electrification gathers tempo within the Australian market, manufacturers that already provide fashions with high-voltage battery packs and drive methods have relied on in-house coaching to upskill technicians.
Although battery electrical autos (BEV) represented simply 1.95 per cent of Australia’s new-vehicle market (together with Tesla that doesn’t report its gross sales figures to the FCAI) final 12 months, that quantity appears set to extend and gross sales of hybrid (HEV) autos grew considerably to characterize about seven per cent of your complete new-vehicle market in 2021.
With myriad electrified autos on the launch pad for introduction in 2022 and past, the uptake of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) fashions is more likely to improve as nicely, whereas plans for Australia to grow to be a ‘hydrogen economic system’ will generate a marketplace for hydrogen gas cell autos (FCEV).
GoAuto requested producers what challenges they anticipated in staffing up – or upskilling present employees – consistent with the elevated uptake of hybrid autos and the anticipated proliferation within the variety of HEVs, PHEVs and BEVs that may quickly enter the market.
A spokesperson for Toyota Australia – the market chief and dominant power within the petrol-electric sector – mentioned the corporate’s “complete international vendor growth program” ensures that “as new applied sciences are progressively launched to the market, technicians are supplied with the suitable degree of coaching to handle service and restore necessities”.
“We’re nicely positioned to handle the data and talent necessities related to our increasing electrified car vary, as a result of our in depth expertise with hybrid autos,” the spokesperson mentioned.
“Over greater than twenty years, Toyota Australia and its vendor community have been offering gross sales, service and restore for parts which can be core to electrified autos.”
MG, the ZS EV of which was the second biggest-selling BEV after Tesla’s Mannequin 3 in Australia final 12 months, mentioned: “As a model experiencing great progress, there’s a concerted focus to make sure that MG’s service providing – together with the upskilling and coaching of its technician base – matches its gross sales numbers. There may be additionally a deal with dual-motor expertise for 2022 and past, which requires MG to make sure its technicians are prepared for the electrification wave.”
Hyundai Motor Firm Australia (HMCA) echoed the sentiment of Porsche Australia – its Taycan BEV outsold its iconic 911 sportscar in 2021 – in saying that the most important problem was not with the ability to ship face-to-face -face coaching and evaluation in a well timed method because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“To fulfill the demand of the enterprise final 12 months, we needed to resort to on-line studying for a portion of the coaching, nonetheless nose to nose supply was essential as a result of evaluation necessities,” an HMCA spokesperson defined to GoAuto.
“Given the restrictions, we had been restricted to the amount of coaching and evaluation that we may provide.”
Kia Australia, which not too long ago launched its first standalone BEV mannequin – the EV6 – to this market mentioned its sellers had been “welcoming of the EV merchandise and so they have engaged with our coaching to make sure their employees stay protected whereas working with this new expertise”.
“The ‘Practice the Coach’ (program) is carried out by our head workplace in accordance with the necessities of the car. We incorporate and localise these necessities into our native coaching together with any guidelines or legal guidelines which can be in place.”
A BMW Group Australia spokesperson mentioned the corporate “has and can proceed to put important deal with EV coaching for our vendor community”.
“We see this as a essential component not solely in enhancing the service providing to our prospects but additionally in upskilling folks, which has advantages for the trade total as we put together for the inflow of recent electrified fashions,” they informed GoAuto.
“One of many key challenges we face is making certain our coaching is up to the mark with the quickly evolving expertise development within the EV area.
“Happily, we’ve an excellent workforce, native amenities and a very good relationship with our colleagues at our head workplace in Munich to make sure we will … instil a excessive degree of competence in our coaching applications to ensure that our technicians to solely diagnose, service and restore any BMW Group EV.”
Volvo Automotive Australia mentioned its mother or father firm had supplied coaching and growth on electrified drivetrains and diagnostics as a part of its apprentice and technician growth applications for a number of years and had encountered no particular staffing challenges on this regard.
“Volvo Vehicles gives a worldwide normal of coaching and qualification of Volvo technicians to work on its EVs, which is constantly utilized by Volvo Automotive Australia,” a spokesperson informed GoAuto.
“We obtain this by integrating this coaching at numerous ranges of the TAFE apprentice applications supplied inside every state and Volvo Vehicles Technicians and fourth-year apprentices endure bespoke technical coaching at Volvo Vehicles’ new coaching facility in Silverwater Sydney.”
Toyota, Hyundai and BMW had been notably among the many native automotive firms that had consulted with PwC concerning the proposed introduction of a brand new qualification – Certificates III in Automotive Electrical Car Expertise (EVT) – through the earlier 12 months.
In the meantime, Hyundai, MG, BMW and Volvo agreed that, for now, the service and restore of EVs would stay a particular space of experience inside the trade’s aftersales community.
“Volvo Vehicles has recognised that the technical and security features of engaged on high-voltage methods require well-defined growth and qualification pathways, no matter whether or not these are supplied as a part of the tertiary schooling inside every state,” the Volvo Automotive Australia spokesperson added.
“Upskilling present technicians between ICE and electrical autos is simply as necessary as creating the subsequent generations of technicians.”
BMW Group Australia mentioned that engaged on a BMW HV system required a licensed high-voltage technician particular to the era of the system. Nevertheless, basic service and restore work may very well be performed by technicians that accomplished the HV induction coaching.
“It’s, and can stay, a specialist space, however because the EV trade evolves and expands, so will the coaching and the variety of professionals within the subject,” the spokesperson added.
Having mentioned that, with a view to the way forward for the trade, there have been deserves to technicians being taught abilities to work on ICE and EV autos from the early levels of their coaching…
“As the quantity of electrified autos in operation will increase, it is necessary that college students (and skilled technicians) can entry the required experience (together with formal programs and on-the-job coaching) to replace their data. We’re additionally creating ICE autos that may run on biofuels in addition to hydrogen produced from renewables,” Toyota Australia mentioned.
Lastly, the businesses quoted on this article outlined their quick targets when it comes to upskilling technicians to service and restore electrical autos inside their vendor networks.
As with Toyota Australia, Mercedes-Benz Australia mentioned its HV coaching was increasing year-on-year to include new electrical autos as they had been launched to the market.
“Technicians can entry coaching at our amenities in Sydney and Melbourne and on-site elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand. The HV modules we offer are supported centrally by our head workplace and delivered constantly throughout all markets. That help has included the provision of a variety of tooling and sources straight from the manufacturing unit, together with particular testing tools and mandatory PPE,” the spokesman mentioned.
MG Motor Australia and NZ mentioned the model’s deal with the way forward for electrification centred on a rise in funding in technical coaching normally and EV upskilling, specifically.
The model will quickly open a technical coaching centre Parramatta, which is able to “permit the corporate to usher in key vendor service personnel and supply probably the most up-to-date coaching in market,” it says.
“Volvo will proceed to offer ongoing coaching and growth. Our new coaching facility in Sydney gives our vendor community with a centre of excellence for all their gross sales and aftersales employees. This facility is complemented by In depth in-dealer coaching round Volvo Vehicles new VPS – Volvo Private Service,” the Volvo Automotive Australia spokesman mentioned.
BMW Group Australia was heading in the right direction to have 100 per cent of its vendor community outfitted with licensed high-voltage technicians and would proceed to evolve and improve its providing in keeping with technological developments. “HV technician coaching and certification will proceed to play a significant position in 2022 and past,” the agency’s spokesman added.
HMCA, in the meantime, would make sure that all of its buyer facing-staff might be outfitted with ample data of hybrid, PHEV, EV and fuel-cell electrical autos “to handle buyer questions or considerations in knowledgeable method” and confidently “clarify the essential options and advantages” of such autos.
It was additionally the corporate’s goal to “make sure that all technical employees might be outfitted with the data and talent to carry out upkeep, service, analysis and restore procedures in a protected and efficient method,” the spokesperson mentioned.
HMCA mentioned it will proceed to ship a variety of coaching and evaluation initiatives to help its franchised sellers, akin to webinars for all frontline employees and hybrid, PHEV, EV, FCEV upkeep employees (together with those that will carry out service, analysis and restore), in addition to “face-to-face coaching and evaluation for all technicians who might be performing the total vary of service, restore and analysis, together with depowering and initialisation.”
Kia Australia, which is able to provide its EV6 by its whole vendor community, in addition to the brand new Niro small SUV (in hybrid, PHEV and BEV guises), mentioned: “Now we have common coaching that we provide our sellers to make sure they’ve the wanted data and abilities to work on our autos.”
