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Newcastle named UK hotspot for EV-qualified repair businesses

Newcastle upon Tyne has the highest proportion of vehicle repair businesses employing an EV-qualified technician, while nine UK authority areas have none registered under the IMI TechSafe scheme.

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Newcastle named UK hotspot for EV-qualified repair businesses
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Newcastle upon Tyne has been named the UK’s leading area for EV-qualified vehicle repair businesses, according to research from Scrap Car Comparison.

The analysis compared active vehicle maintenance businesses listed by Companies House with those employing at least one technician certified under the Institute of the Motor Industry’s TechSafe scheme.

More than 6,100 automotive businesses across the UK were found to employ at least one TechSafe-certified EV technician. In Newcastle upon Tyne, 79.3% of vehicle repair businesses had at least one certified mechanic, the highest proportion recorded.

Bath and North East Somerset ranked second, with 74.6% of repair businesses employing an EV-qualified technician, followed by Brighton and Hove at 64.7%, Flintshire at 60% and Torbay at 47%.

Derby recorded a figure of 43.1%, while Stirling, Wokingham, Peterborough and Swansea completed the top 10, with between 30.1% and 31.5% of repair businesses employing a certified technician.

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At the other end of the table, nine authority areas had no registered repair business employing an IMI TechSafe-certified EV technician. These included North Somerset, Pembrokeshire, Bridgend, North Ayrshire, Torfaen, Ceredigion, East Renfrewshire, Kirklees and Inverclyde.

Bedford and North Lincolnshire also had fewer than 1% of repair businesses employing an EV-qualified technician. North Northamptonshire had four businesses with registered EV-safe technicians from a total of 516 repair businesses, equivalent to 0.8%.

Scrap Car Comparison said the findings highlighted uneven access to appropriately trained technicians as the number of electric vehicles on UK roads continued to increase.

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EV technicians are not legally required to hold a specific qualification before working on electric vehicles, although some manufacturers require appropriately trained technicians to be used to maintain vehicle warranties.

Matt Clamp, customer service manager at Scrap Car Comparison, said: “Adoption of electric vehicles among car owners has increased hugely in recent years, with schemes such as the Electric Car Grant only likely to support this increase further. Though the infrastructure for EVs has improved, with charging points now much more accessible, there’s clearly still a way to go before it’s easy to access the services of an EV-safe specialist. Though most garages will likely repair EVs, the data shows that in reality, many may not have the appropriate certifications for handling vehicles with high-voltage electrical systems.

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“Though this isn’t a legal requirement, some vehicle manufacturers will require their owners to use technicians with the appropriate qualifications to help maintain the vehicle warranty. Similarly, there’s an ongoing risk to business owners and technicians if they’re working on vehicles without being properly educated on the risks and how to mitigate them.

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“Many EV owners may not be aware that these certifications exist for mechanics, but it’s always worth double-checking with a garage before booking your vehicle in for repairs or maintenance.”

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