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It’s time for one of my favorite issues of the year! As many of you know, our April issue showcases our Aftermarket Profile. This yearly PTEN purchasing study consists of data gathered from shop owners and technicians across the country. We asked questions about the types of repairs and services you perform, the tools and equipment you own, your current and future purchasing plans, and much more. Before we dive into the details, I just want to give a big thank you to the over 300 of you who responded to the survey.
Taking a quick look at the findings, it’s no surprise that 49 percent of you, noted diagnostic and electrical services as one of the top five service opportunities for your shop. As the years go by, vehicles are only becoming more and more complex. With the addition of all the sensors and cameras needed for ADAS, advanced infotainment centers, and hybrid/EV batteries, the technicians at your shops are likely seeing more diagnostic and electrical repairs than ever.
This leads me to my next statistic. According to our findings, 66 percent of you plan on purchasing electrical tools/equipment in 2023. This falls in line with what we’ve been talking about, but what I found most interesting was how many of you use print magazines (92 percent), videos (41 percent), eNewletters (23 percent), and social media (17percent) to help make your purchasing decisions. I love seeing that print magazines are No. 1, though I might be a bit biased. Even if the other sources I mentioned aren’t as highly referenced be sure you’re signed up for our newsletter, subscribed to PTEN’s YouTube channel, and following us on Facebook to receive exclusive content about the latest tools and equipment hitting the market.
Moving on, with all these potentially complex repairs coming into your shops and the advanced equipment needed to fix them, training will need to be top of mind. Our respondents noted that electrical/electronic systems (62 percent), hybrids/EVs (48 percent), and engine performance/drivability (47 percent) were the top three training opportunities for shops. To get training on these topics, the respondents noted they used manuals (56 percent), YouTube (54 percent), trade magazines (53 percent), and online webinars (50 percent). If you’re looking for some industry training to keep your shop on top, take a look at our Training and Events Calendar at vehicleservicepros.com/events.
I could go on about other statistics found in the survey, but I think you’ll get more out of this by checking it out yourself. Flip to page XX for the full survey results.
Our goal with this report is, as always, to provide you all with a valuable reference for your business. If you have any questions or just want to discuss the findings in this report, feel free to reach out. As PTEN’s new editor, I’m looking forward to chatting with as many of you as I can about this and many other topics down the road.
Editor’s Correction: In the Diagnostic Tech article featured in our February issue, an image of the Automotive Test Solutions product was placed with an image of Pico Technology’s PicoScope 4425A with an incorrect caption. The images should not have been placed together and should have been separately captioned with each product’s name. We apologize for the error.
