The auto trade’s burgeoning transition to electrical autos poses new challenges to auto service facilities, as greater hybrid and EV adoption charges require corporations to know and handle new {hardware}.
One such service firm is Bridgestone Americas, which owns roughly 2,200 tire and car service facilities throughout the U.S, as detailed in a report final month from Forbes.
As electrical motors and battery cell-operated motors grow to be extra widespread, Bridgestone’s service and tire facilities require new gear and up to date coaching for technicians.
Whereas present EV gross sales quantity remains to be pretty low for the U.S. auto market, Bridgestone Retail Operations President Marko Ibrahim says the corporate is already making strikes to be prepared for the anticipated transition to electrical and hybrid fashions within the years forward.
“We don’t wait till demand is about, as a result of then we’re behind,” Ibrahim stated. “We attempt to anticipate the place the puck goes, and we attempt to get there first.”
The U.S. auto market solely had 24 completely different EVs out there in 2020, that quantity is anticipated to extend to 153 by 2025, in keeping with Normal Motors (GM) Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg in a current internet convention hosted by the Society of Automotive Analysts.
Bridgestone is presently increasing EV providers to 44 places in each Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, California, giving technicians the instruments to work with high-voltage motors and battery-powered engines.
A take a look at the highest 5 guidelines for electrical automobile upkeep to maintain your EV up-and-running with out points (YouTube: Roadshow)
Bridgestone can also be partnering with Blink Charging to ascertain 50 Degree 2 charging stations throughout 25 Firestone Full Auto Care and Wheel Works places within the U.S. The chargers will deploy early this yr at shops in Austin, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
With charging stations at Bridgestone’s service facilities, the corporate’s technicians will even want further coaching to take care of the charging {hardware}.
Previous to the present growth, Ibrahim says the corporate was already working a pilot program to supply added technician coaching for high-voltage autos and chargers, which spanned 15 Bridgestone places round Austin.
“4 years in the past, we began our journey on this,” Ibrahim stated.
The corporate owns service middle manufacturers, together with Firestone Full Auto Care, Wheel Works, Tires Plus and Hibdon Tires Plus, and Ibrahim says the corporate serviced over 400,000 electrical autos and hybrids final yr.
Legacy automakers like GM and Ford are presently slower to electrification in each service choices and charging than Tesla, which solely sells EVs and likewise has its personal service facilities devoted to fixing its prospects’ autos.
Tesla additionally options its personal community of charging stations, Superchargers, whereas conventional automakers are largely partnering with third-party charging corporations to increase charging infrastructure — not in contrast to Bridgestone.
With specialists pointing to Tesla’s vertical integration as a part of the rationale the corporate succeeded all through 2021 amidst an general downturn of the auto trade, it begs the query: How will conventional auto corporations climate the service wants of a serious shift to electrical autos within the years to come back?
Initially posted on EVANNEX. By Peter McGuthriey.
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