Wow this is really a "For want of a shoe .... " story.
For want of £2,500 per mechanic for four days of training, there are not enough #EV repair people.
For want of #EVrepair people, EV's are lost - or rather, declared a total loss by insurance companies.
Drivers worry about losing their EV this way.
EV sales are stagnant.
The clean transportation transition stalls.
The climate is harmed.
There are fewer parts to an EV but also the bottlenecks in the supply chains are apparently pretty tight right now. Add the fact that most EVs have "advanced" (read: expensive) features; even a fenderbender doesn't only bend the fender, it also takes out the expensive parking cameras, the distance readers, and so on.
These features have been around before EVs.
These features come "standard" or as part of a "package".
It doesn't have to be that way. Europeans order their car bespoke. I once helped my dad buy a car (in the Netherlands). He specified just about everything, not just what kind of engine and what kind of wheels, but the wiper control, the seat upholstery, the window controls, all that. For a bit extra he could get a bespoke colour. Then he had to wait 10 weeks for it to be built. But he got exactly what he wanted.
Americans tend to buy their cars differently: they go to the dealer, and drive home in a new car. So that car is what the *dealer* thinks most customers want.
The packages are like, air conditioning AND seat heat. If you live in Florida and must have that AC you get to buy the seat heat too. Dealers are scandalised if you say you want a car to your own specs. Doesn't mean it's impossible.
@CelloMomOnCars I suspect it's also, in part, just a matter of not having enough mechanics period. Who are then too busy to take time out for training.
Like, for example; I know to plan the yearly service for the company van well ahead of time now, and even three months in advance the first option was two months later.
Been the case for four years now.
I guess this is how those home energy YouTubers are getting their EV battery packs, though 😂
Has anyone come up with a credible explanation for the dearth of workers in the Netherlands?
@CelloMomOnCars I am sure I could give one if someone hasn't yet, but it'd take me a while, as it involves a multitude of reasons that came together over years, probably decades 😩
Practical education being undervalued vs. theoretical, several industries being slow to adapt to online services, affordable housing, etc.
CelloMom On Cars
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