Albeit minimal at the time of this writing – the impact of electric vehicles on the automotive repair industry is a factor to be considered. The use of electric vehicles will continue to grow and the maintenance requirements of these vehicles being different than gas powered vehicles will impact the automotive repair business. Following are factors to consider regarding electric powered vehicles:
- Infrastructure – From the time that gasoline powered vehicles were introduced the infrastructure to support their use has grown gradually over the years. Gasoline stations have proliferated such that at the time of this writing there are an estimated 115,000 plus in the US. There are approximately 47,000 electric vehicle charging stations. So, there’s a significant gap in the number of stations available.
- Charging Requirements – Charging an EV can be done very quickly or it can take hours depending on charging requirements. Charging can be done at home for those with a place to charge them. So this would eliminate trips to the gas station but have space requirements at home.
- Usage and Growth – At the time of this writing approximately 1% of the passenger cars and light trucks in the US are powered by electricity. This is a very small piece of the market. With an estimated growth rate of 23 percent over the next five years it’s evident that the piece of the market will not be that great in the immediate future. However small the impact appears there will be an impact on the automotive repair business.
