Bodyshop Consulting

Recent research for the ABP State of the Industry Report underscores the critical challenges facing the bodyshop industry, said LKQ: average hourly labour rates have exceeded £50, an 8% increase on last year, while the increase in Employer National Insurance is set to cost businesses an additional £900 per employee on average.

LKQ said it is sharing guidance to help support margins as work volumes level out and as firms continue to face inflationary pressures, supported by its complete solutions portfolio for cost-efficient repairs.

LKQ said its Platinum Approved Parts Programme boasts the UK’s largest selection of BS10125 compliant parts and can save bodyshops up to £150 on every repair. All body parts and lighting in the range are selected to adhere to stringent quality standards, sourced from reliable suppliers, endorsed by network relationship partners, and reinforced by LKQ’s lifetime warranty commitment.

Bodyshops can connect directly to LKQ Quote Services to access the UK’s widest range of collision parts (including all platinum-approved parts), helping streamline the process with instant availability and pricing of parts. In 2024, LKQ issued 440,000 quotes for £239 million worth of parts – offering an average saving from RRP of over 50%.

The UK’s drink driving hotspots have been revealed in a new Freedom of Information request to the DVLA.

According to the new data, Northampton had the highest number of motorists per 10,000 convicted for driving over the limit in 2023.

It found that 687 of the 511,000 registered drivers were convicted of drink driving offences, which equates to 13.4 per 10,000.

Llandudno was second with 13.1 per 10,000, followed by Nottingham (12.3), Sunderland (12.1), Teesside (11.7), and Wakefield (11.7).

Completing the top 10 regions where drink driving was most prominent in 2023 were Durham (11.5), Motherwell (11.5), Newport (11.3), and The Western Isles (11.3).

The findings come after RAC research has revealed growing support for tougher sentences for those caught drink driving, with 38% of drivers backing stricter penalties. A further 34% were in favour of lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit to zero and a third (33%) said police should have the authority to immediately disqualify drink-drivers at the roadside.

Automechanika Birmingham 2025 is set to host an exceptional line-up of top-tier brands and companies at its event on 3-5 June. Held at the NEC Birmingham, the popular and growing automotive trade show will showcase industry giants and innovative newcomers, providing a dynamic hub for networking, product demonstrations and knowledge-sharing for professionals across the body repair and mechanical sectors

Easi-Drive, EDAM Group and Credit Repair are in administration.

Edam is one of the largest privately owned credit-hire and post-accident services providers, operating its own fleet and working across a broad range of sectors, Edam Group is listed as the 12th largest accident management company with a £36.7m turnover (does not necessarily include repair costs) and 376 staff.

Ryan Grant and Richard Harrison were appointed Joint Administrators of Easi-Drive Limited, EDAM Group Limited and Credit Repair Limited on 6 January 2025

More detail on the earlier ABP Club news story (IFED (Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department) – man jailed & 2 men sentenced for unsuccessful ‘crash for cash’ plot worth £103,000 against LV) , with GBB, a Davies company of research and forensic investigations, helping to secure the conviction of three fraudsters – Edwin White, Nicholas Ralph and Clive Moore – who were sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, a 9-month community order and must pay £8,300 in fines collectively.

In a case brought forward by the Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) following an investigation led by Philip Day, Special Investigator at Allianz, GBB’s forensic engineering teams were brought in to investigate an incident involving an Aston Martin DB9 Volante and a Peugeot 208 Style.

2024 shaped up to be busy year for Auto Windscreens. The company has introduced 23 Service Centre Managers and Supervisors and launched 23 ‘Service Centres of the Future’ as part of new infrastructure to further support technicians and customers.

The continued demand for its repair, replacement and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) calibration services have seen it recruit 14 technicians across the country. It has also opened two new London sites, in Tottenham and Park Royal to serve an increasing number of customers with ADAS requirements. ADAS calibrations now make up nearly 30% of all jobs, up 9.8% on 2022.

A “chop shop” located near Stansted Airport leads officers to find stolen vehicles and car parts valued at £400K and two men arrested.

Ageas, one of the UK’s largest motor insurers, has identified a worrying increase in so-called ‘Crash for Cash’ scams involving cars and mopeds, with a significant rise in suspected incidents in the Bristol area, specifically Bishopston.  This type of fraud sees moped riders deliberately manoeuvring their vehicles into the path of reversing vehicles, often vans, to induce an impact and then claim for damage and injuries.

New AA analysis has revealed that young drivers are significantly over-represented in fatal crashes during December evenings.

The data has been released as a warning to younger drivers ahead of the Christmas party season.

It found that young drivers (17-20) were involved in a fifth (19%) of night-time fatal collisions last December, despite this age group making up just 2.4% of licence holders.

Overall, drunk drivers are involved in nearly a fifth (18%) of all fatalities on UK roads. This equates to an estimated 280 fatal drink-drive collisions in 2022, the highest level since 2009. Impairment by drugs is listed in 6.2% of fatal collisions.

Encouragingly, an AA/Yonder poll revealed that many drivers are now turning to zero-alcohol options to avoid drink driving, with more than four-fifths (83%) saying the range of zero-alcohol drinks now means there is no excuse for drink driving.

New research by Citizens Advice has revealed that 2.6 million people in the UK don’t drive because they’re unable to afford car insurance costs.

This includes almost 900,000 drivers who have had to cancel their cover in the last 12 months, in addition to 1.7m people who have been priced out of the market for longer than a year.

Of those who have cancelled policies in the last 12 months, 77% reported that this had a negative impact on their day-to-day life.