The UK was the first major economy to set a net zero emissions target by 2050 in law last summer, and in February the Prime Minister announced plans to bring forward a ban on petrol and diesel cars, which includes hybrid cars, to 2035 - five years earlier than initially planned.
We can draw parallels from Norway, who have already set out laws that ban the sale of brand new petrol and diesel engined vehicles from 2025 (a full ten years ahead of the UK); already over 50% of brand new vehicles sales are of zero emission vehicles.
Assuming similar trends over the next 10 years in the UK, the percentage of zero emission vehicles being sold will steadily increase, and as this occurs the volume of affordable used electric and hybrid vehicles in the market place will also steadily increase to a point where these vehicles will become the majority.
Depending upon the rate of change the UK Government have advised that they could bring the petrol and diesel ban forward by a few years.
This rate of change will mean that all businesses handling vehicles will have to learn about this new technology, and any other technology that becomes mainstream, such as Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles, so that they can continue to operate effectively. This will include training and development of their staff, investing in equipment and buildings, changing processes and procedures, understanding any new risks, health and safety implications, and also having the ability to work on every type of vehicle and powertrain on the road.
Don’t forget, this is not just electric and hybrid or fuel cell vehicles; there is an enormous amount of new advanced technology under development, including advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous operation, and many more innovations and designs.
All businesses involved with the repair, maintenance and transportation of vehicles will have to change and adapt, this includes: vehicle repairers, recovery agents, vehicle transporters, collision repair centres, valeting centres, fast fits, tyre specialists, windscreen replacement and many more, so how do companies grow, develop and become specialists in this vital area? This document will set out some proposals and suggestions for this development and growth.
Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great said “enduring great companies preserve their core values and purpose while their business strategies and operating practices endlessly adapt to a changing world’.
Clock Building, Not Time Telling
Build an organisation that can endure and adapt through multiple generations of leaders and product life cycles: the exact opposite of being built around a single great leader or great idea or a single owner or family.
Genius of AND
Embrace both extremes on a number of dimensions at the same time, instead of choosing A OR B, figure out how to have A AND B - purpose AND profit, continuity AND change, freedom AND responsibility etc.
Core Ideology
Instil core values and core purpose as principles to guide decisions and inspire people throughout the organisation over a long period of time
Preserve the Core and Stimulate Progress
Preserve the core ideology as an anchor point while stimulating change, improvement, innovation and renewal in everything else.
Therefore all businesses need:
Level 5 Leaders who build a company that can tick along without them; who have personal humility AND professional will; are ambitious for the company and have a sense of purpose beyond their own success; and are relentless in stimulating progress towards tangible results and achievement. This culture should be encouraged and developed throughout the management team and through the core values of the business. Succession planning means that there will never be any gaps in leadership as the team expands or changes as leaders move upwards, retire or depart.
Who First - Assessing all current team members and making certain the right people are ‘on the bus’; This could be brutal, as those people in the wrong seats have to be moved and some may need to get off the bus altogether. Develop recruitment policies that are driven by the need to bring people into the business that fit the culture, the core values and the ambitions of the company. Continuously develop and improve staff knowledge, ability and competence and promote from within as much as possible.
To Be Brutal about Facts - Being honest, open and unafraid of the truth can be difficult. The culture of the company must be such that all members of staff can be honest, open and unafraid to speak the truth. This brings out the best in the right people, means that all discussions and decisions are taken for the right reasons and exactly follow the culture and values of the business, and any wrong decisions are squashed before they create damage.
Discipline - Building an enduring culture of discipline will bring massive levels of success to any corporation or business, gives all staff freedom AND responsibility and will eject those that do not share the values and standards of an organisation. Staff will be loyal, they will arrive on time; they will want to grow, develop and move upwards through the organisation; they will give their best every day and will step in and help in a crisis or time of need.
Technology - Vehicle technology is driving change across the automotive industry, and is what this paper is about; this is the final point, deliberately. Technology is subservient to the business, getting the leadership, structure, core values and culture of the business has to come before the technology. If the technology comes first then we are wasting our time - staff can be trained and developed endlessly, but without leadership, structure, values and culture the business will not see the fruits of that training and development because staff will leave. It is said that people do not leave their job, they leave their manager, and this is very true!
Using all of the above we can now build a potential road map for automotive businesses to advance into the new ‘fully charged’ automotive era.
If you want to build a road map for your business then contact Salvage Wire through their website www.salvagewire.com
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