As the automotive aftermarket shifts towards the continued adoption of emerging technology, training and parts will play a key role in ensuring auto repair shops and their technicians have the tools they need to be successful in this transition.
NAPA EVP, Chief Merchandising Office Jamie Walton and Jake Sorenson of McNeil's Auto Care in Sandy, Utah, offered Ratchet+Wrench a 30,000-foot view of NAPA’s strategic outlook for shops and technicians and a peek at its NexDrive Powered by NAPA program.
Ratchet+Wrench
What's the impact of the EV trend on the automotive aftermarket?
Jake Sorensen: I can say on the repair side of things, it's still fairly slow. We've tried to market to that type of vehicle, but there's just not a ton on the road yet. The biggest impact we've seen is the hesitancy from a lot of technicians to work on these vehicles because they're so different than what they're used to, or at least they believe they are. They don't feel safe or just fully understand how they work and are eager for training or to learn how before they jump into them.
Jamie Walton: And similar for us, Chris. We're not seeing a huge demand yet. We're not seeing that traffic come through to our workshops. Our focus is really on preparing our workshops for when this does come.
Ratchet+Wrench
Jake, how do you demystify the safety issue?
Jake Sorensen: You know, honestly, it's just training. The hard part is you don't know what you don't know. So I think getting technicians in front of some training programs, learning how these systems work, how they've been designed to be safe to work on is really where it's at. And that's why I'm excited about the training aspect of this NexDrive Powered by NAPA because that's what they really focused on is making sure that technicians are comfortable and able to work on these vehicles.
Ratchet+Wrench
What is NexDrive Powered by NAPA, and why is it exciting?
Jamie Walton: It’s a four-pillar program that started globally. We actually commenced this program in our European business. The Netherlands rolled this out in 2020, and that's a market that's clearly seeing EV adoption far greater than in the West, far greater than most European countries. So, we're focused on awareness, training products and then store education training. The nuance is particularly on training. We have to adapt it for the US market and that's what Jake's doing right now as part of this training program. He's giving us feedback to confirm that the training we plan on rolling out is aligned to what he needs in the market.
Ratchet+Wrench
Is early adoption important from an education and training standpoint for auto shops right now?
Jake Sorensen: I believe it is. A lot of the customers driving these vehicles want to know that the shop they're coming to understands their car, they're comfortable working on them, they speak their speak. These are a little different customers; a lot of the time they know more about their cars than most owners do and they want to know that you understand how it works as well, so being on the early side of that is important.
Ratchet+Wrench
Something I caught wind of at SEMA, Jake, was parts labeling with EVs, and how Tesla does their own thing when it comes to parts labeling. Is that something that that's going to be standard with electric vehicles where parts are interchangeable per model versus like with an ICE where the parts are specific to the model?
Jake Sorensen: Funny you ask that because it is something that I've seen, and there is a change since the first training that I went through to today. We're still kind of in that early stage of it where manufacturers all are making up their own names, their own acronyms for these things. But part of the training that we're at now, the NexDrive is that they are trying to come up with names for these different components that any technician can look for certain aspects. They can look for how many high-voltage cables go into that part, and you can determine what that part is and the generic name for it, regardless of whether it's in a Hyundai, Kia, Ford or Tesla.
Ratchet+Wrench
From a parts standpoint on the NAPA side, where is NAPA in terms of electric vehicle parts?
Jamie Walton: We see ourselves in the game now. In fact, we would position ourselves as leading in the aftermarket. We've got a clear strategy around being first to market when it comes to EV parts, and we think we're delivering on that strategy now ... We think we've got the right relationships and contacts in place and that's allowing us to bring those products to NAPA stores for customers like Jake to easily purchase.
Ratchet+Wrench
With regards to EV training, will there come a day when there will be OE-specific training for EVs similar to how ASE certifies techs for specific types of vehicles?
Jake Sorensen: Yes and no. So right now, ASE does have an L4 certification, and I can see the day when a lot of those certifications will kind of morph over to EV and hybrid targeted. They are constantly updating the tests and the curriculum. And so yeah, I think that day will come.
Ratchet+Wrench
Jamie, what is NAPA doing from that educational standpoint to prepare all of the shops in its network?
Jamie Walton: We see it internally as four pillars, the first pillar being awareness. So, it is about creating awareness first within workshops and giving them the tools and equipment to be ready to work on these vehicles. It's clearly about training, as Jake just talked about. Product will be a key pillar for us; making sure we have the product on the shelf when the technicians need it. And we also have another key pillar around store training, making sure our store associates in NAPA are ready to help the technicians when those calls come through.
Ratchet+Wrench
What are the identifiable profit centers for EV work?
Jake Sorensen: As a shop owner or a manager, what we're seeing is that there's a pretty big shift from repair to maintenance on these vehicles more, and there are different maintenance procedures that are needed and that's why the training is so important because you realize that there are things we didn't have to do on traditional internal combustion engine vehicles that we now have to do on hybrid and electric vehicles. There are different parts we're purchasing. It's just a whole different mindset, but I think the idea out there is that these vehicles require little to no repair or maintenance, and while there are certainly areas that are less, there are others that are higher. There are a lot of going system components that need to be serviced, such as filters and things like that. And so, there's plenty for us to change our target towards.
Jamie Walton: We do see that opportunity. On average, the parts for EV vehicles have a higher average selling price. So, we think that's great for Jake's business and his peers. Those parts will sell for more and are required to sell for more because of the technology involved. But we also think there's a great opportunity for independent workshops to start charging (for those who don't) or for those who do, charging appropriately for diagnostics work, and these vehicles require a lot of technical work done to them.
Ratchet+Wrench
What’s the jumping-off point for shop owners, Jake?
Jake Sorensen: I think at the end of the day, shop owners have either already jumped on board and are looking for more assets, you know, more offered to them which this NexDrive Powered by NAPA is that or they've been hesitant, and they didn't know where to find the training or where to get the information. I think today it's time to understand that whether you want it or not, these electric cars are coming and that you're going to have to service them at some point.
