Making up for the lack of MOTs from the 2020 delays

Spring 2022 could see a dip in MOT demand by as many as 2m tests, with retailers warned to be on top of aftersales opportunities to make up the shortfall.

MOT bookings in April and May could be below pre-pandemic levels by as much as 37%, according to DVSA data from Bookmygarage.com.

With the effects of the 2020 six-month MOT extension still echoing through the sector, the research indicates the months of April and May will see demand for MOTs plummet again this year, after April and May 2021 saw 2.3 million fewer MOT tests take place compared to pre-pandemic levels.

This shortfall means that retailers will need to plug the gap, and addressing the decline in aftersales work identified via video health checks. Realtime communications has identified the following stats:

• Red’ (urgent) aftersales work has fallen by almost 9%
• ‘Amber’ (recommended work) has fallen by over 45%
• Invoice values for this work have declined by over 45%

While many dealers have been reporting impressive levels of profitability, Realtime communications Alistair Jeff, commercial director, is concerned that their extensive analysis of a broad range of dealers’ eVHC conversions and invoice values significant opportunities are being missed, saying:

“I’m sure that many business leaders will be concerned that the average conversion of urgent red work identified through a detailed eVHC has fallen to 52.1% from the three-year highpoint that arose in the immediate aftermath of the first lockdown. More worryingly, average amber work conversion has dropped to just 10.8% from its high point of 14.3%, also achieved in March 2020.

“While accepting that March 2020 was a unique moment socially; it shone a light on what is possible.”

“Just from a duty of care perspective, knowing that almost half of all vehicles with an urgent repair requirement leave a dealer without it being rectified feels wrong. I say this as a business steeped in hands-on aftersales experience. To provide an idea of the value to dealers, of what, in essence, was good service to meet customer needs, in March 2020, invoice values averaged £176.53; in February this year, it had fallen to £98.90. The scale of the opportunity is crystal clear.”

One of these opportunities is in tyres, as RTC points out that of £160m of red and amber tyre work that was identified in 2021, only £26m of the work was realised on the same day of service.

Of this, only 35% of the red tyre work was done while just 5% of customers with amber alerts took up the work. Others did convert later on, but this gave a chance to go and shop around elsewhere. Despite this, tyres make up 20% of the eVHC opportunities, says RTC.

“For pretty much all retailers, tyres are an opportunity that should not be overlooked and dealers should try to convert their opportunities where possible on the day of service” said Alistair. “From experience, where dealers used video and other media to support the customer conversation, helped them complete more work on the same day.”

YOUR ACTION PLAN

• Calculate your own missed aftersales opportunities
• Ensure every health check gets followed up
• Make video a universal on health checks
• Price check where customers might go before they go there