By Mike Davey
Hamilton, Ontario — September 12, 2017 — It wasn’t too long ago that it seemed the OEMs simply didn’t pay much attention to the collision business. Times have changed. Today numerous car manufacturers have established official programs that certify or recognize particular shops as meeting their repair standards. Some of these programs currently operate only in the US, but it seems likely that many of those will make the jump to Canada sooner rather than later.
Our latest survey asked our readers to let us know if they participate in any of these programs and if they’re actively seeking more.
Collision Repair magazine runs new surveys every week. Our next survey looks at the proposed tax changes that could impact small businesses. For more on this topic, please see “Letter: Proposed tax changes will hurt repairers.” The survey is open to all industry stakeholders and can be found at this link.
Our first question simply asked readers to let us know if they had any OEM certifications or recognitions. The majority (58 percent) of respondents indicated that they possessed at least one of these. This may be a good time to point out that these numbers reflect only the participants in the survey. They may or may not be an accurate depiction of Canada’s collision repair industry as a whole.
The next question asked this group to let us know which certifications they possess. Please note that respondents could pick more than one answer to this question, so the percentages add up to more than 100 percent.
The single most common certification is for Ford (50 percent). The Ford certification in Canada is through Certified Collision Care. This company also certifies shops for FCA (37 percent) and Nissan (17 percent).
After Ford, the next most common program is Honda ProFirst recognition at 40 percent, followed by Toyota at 37 percent. The numbers drop off sharply from there, with Volkswagen netting 14 percent and BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lexus all achieving 7 percent. A total of three percent respondents indicated they were participants in Audi’s program.
Respondents could also choose “Other.” About 4 percent of repairers chose this answer. The programs indicated included Tesla, Porsche and McLaren. We wouldn’t expect many shops to have these particular certifications.
Many shops don’t seem to be content with just one certification. Our next question asked readers to let us know if they were currently working towards any certifications. A slight majority (51 percent) are, but 28 percent are not. An additional 21 percent indicated that they already possessed one certification and were not currently seeking more.
The most common certification these shops are working towards is Toyota, followed closely by Ford, Nissan and Honda ProFirst.
Collision Repair magazine’s next survey asks for your input on proposed changes to federal taxation that could impact small business. You can participate in that survey at this link, and make sure to watch for the results next Wednesday on collisionrepairmag.com!
