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The Automotive Industries Association of Canada commissioned a groundbreaking industry research project by J.D. Power and CHAT Integrated Media. The objective of the research was to uncover the current state of access to repair information across Canada through hundreds of surveys and interviews with automotive service providers (ASPs).

This is the first in a series of articles that looks at key issues and potential risks to the automotive aftermarket posed by a changing technological landscape and disruptions to access to vehicle repair information.

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Independent automotive service providers pride themselves on their problem-solving skills, but will often look to outside help when they are faced with a particularly confounding repair.  For many, a network of trusted contacts at the car dealership is an indispensable part of their repair process.  The dealership relationship can be informal including as a call or visit every now and then or can become a quasi-dealer service connection.

“I’ve taken it upon myself to actually address certain manufacturers, to establish a good rapport, where if I am in a jam, I can contact somebody with some authority to assist me in a certain item if I can’t repair it,” says the owner and lead tech of an urban independent ASP, interviewed as part of an AIA research report. (All interviews were conducted on the condition of anonymity.)

“I can phone up four or five different foremen in different dealerships right to their direct line. I’ve even contacted them on my way home and said, ‘I’ve got such and such. This is what I’ve done.’ And while I’m driving home, they’ve given me some information or they say, okay, I’ve got this logged, I’ll call you in the morning with information. And I even have had them come to my shop to assist me with whatever equipment they have from the dealers to help me in fixing the car.

“I’m not going to say they’re my bread and butter, but they are part of my lifeline. If you want to stay in business, you’ve got to try and keep the customer happy, right? And you’ll use every resource you possibly can.”

One shop, when faced with chronic troubles accessing information from Ford, caught the attention of an OE territory manager. Due to a commercial relationship which existed with the shop, the Ford associate set the independent shop up with access to dealer-level information.

“My Ford sales rep, he signed me up. I have access to absolutely everything from Ford, from soup to nuts. I could get into everything OEM. Right up to the minute. Some OEMs are highly secretive, and it’s much more difficult, or expensive, to access information.”

At times, there is a disconnect between the automakers’ policy regarding cooperation between dealerships and the independent service sector. This is because automakers often want to ensure that owners of their vehicles have a good experience to increase the likelihood of the owner buying their brand again. One repair business owner had a particularly startling account of a car dealer crossing what many would consider an ethical line.

“We have to be a little bit careful sharing some information with the dealers, because what we’re finding now is that dealers, especially if we supply them a VIN number, are actually looking into their customer history to see if that car has been there, and then they’re actually calling the customers to get the business back.

“I don’t know if that’s crossing the line. Certainly it would be a little bit. The reason we found out is we actually knew the customer personally. They were having service work done in one of my stores. [The store] needed the part from [the dealer], supplied them with the VIN number, and an hour later the customer got a call asking why he didn’t bring the car back to them.”

What is evident, is that the, the sometimes-precarious relationships that independents have with car dealers remains an important part of their information network. Of concern is evidence that these relationships and their function are being put at risk.

It has been reported that large, consolidated dealer groups have issued “non-cooperation” directives, putting a stop to above-board cooperation and information sharing.

Based on the importance of the independent / dealer relationship, it is not hard to see how the elimination of this avenue for valuable repair assistance could hurt the ability of independent shops to repair vehicles effectively.

In an increasingly complex repair environment, relying on this informal information network may not be a reliable plan for future success.

The aftermarket needs to ask if there should be some protection against “turning off the information tap” on the whims of individual dealers or dealer networks.

“Relying on the various sources of information and support speaks to how the aftermarket is continuously evolving, finding new ways of being able to provide good service to the consumer to keep their car well-maintained,” says J.F. Champagne, president of the Automotive Industries Association of Canada.

“One aspect of that is Alldata and Mitchell and the like, but obviously the dealership has been a component of that. It’s always going to be part of the arsenal that the repairer needs to use, because in some cases it relates to something that needs to be fixed under warranty. So that relationship between the aftermarket and the dealership will continue, but we need to be cautious.

“As cars become increasingly connected and increasingly generating information, we must make sure that we have a competitive marketplace and that we continue to provide consumer choice.

“If the data generated by the car cannot be readily made available to the aftermarket, that’s where we start to have a problem. We’re no longer going to maintain a consistent marketplace and, in some cases, [might] reduce consumer choice.

“I’m not saying that we should stop having a relationship with a dealership. What we are saying, though, is specifically in the case of connected cars, that information should be made directly available to the aftermarket without having to rely on a dealership to access that information.”

It’s critical that access not be left to the whims of the marketplace or the Canadian Automotive Service Information Standard (CASIS) voluntary agreement with automakers, he says.

“When you think about, again, a connected car that generates an enormous amount of information, and if you want to be able to effectively diagnose, repair, and calibrate, we don’t believe that a voluntary agreement like CASIS is going to suffice for the future.

“We’ve been at this now steadily for the last two to three years. It started with the Senate report, ‘Driving Change,’ on the future of autonomous and connected vehicles, where we clearly made a mark. The report recommendations say we do need to ensure the aftermarket continues to have access to the information it needs to repair vehicles. This was a big, big success for us.”

Ongoing consultations where diverse groups of stakeholders also meet with government have continued to put the need to ensure access front and centre with government, says Champagne, adding, “and that the data is not a monopoly of the car maker.”

Key areas of involvement for the AIA have also included ensuring that there is a framework regarding cybersecurity and ownership of the data, “Canada’s Digital Charter.”

As these initiatives move forward, Champagne says it is vital for members of the aftermarket to stay connected and engaged with the association, in order to be prepared for the coming changes.

“The sustainability of the wholesaler/jobber network as well as the ASP is greatly dependent upon that future access to information. We want them to be active members of the association, so they know what we’re doing, and to make them better educated about what it means to exist in an environment where the connected car and information would not be available to the aftermarket.

“They’re very focused on today’s reality, but this future is not that far out. It is probably in the two to five-year range that it will start to have an impact on their business.

“They need to be better informed, and they are going to have to adapt.”

The AIA research identified that independent auto shops have a dependency on dealerships to access what they need in order to offer their services. This points to a shortfall in the CASIS agreement which is to establish a level playing field among market players in the automotive industry. There are several dynamics at play when it comes to accessing vehicle repair data.

The challenges facing today’s automotive service professional can seem exhaustive. Finding competent technicians who can contribute to your team, attracting customers and informing them of their repair and maintenance needs, along with regulatory hassles all need a sharp eye on your day to day business. But there are also longer-term demands such as facing your dealer competition, investing in training, technology, and marketing, which can make a garage owner despair of finding enough hours in the week.

AIA Canada is committed to serving the aftermarket repair sector – understanding their pain points, learning about their challenges, and finding long-term solutions. This study commissioned by AIA was a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go. Through an initiative called ASAP (Automotive Service Associate Program) AIA invites all aftermarket service shops in Canada to be a part of a national community to work collaboratively to find solutions. After all, the aftermarket’s future depends on this collaboration.

Learn more about ASAP.