Wembley Hill's Calvin, ECP's Donna West and lime-green lovelies Satbinder and Steve from Corteco

It was great to see the supply chain working together to spread the aftermarket word this week.

I popped along to the Brent Park Tesco superstore to see Corteco, ECP and Wembley Hill Garage in action as they helped charity Asthma UK rattle their fundraising buckets.

(Well keep them quite still, actually, because apparently rattling is strictly off limits these days!).

Now you might wonder what Asthma has to do with the aftermarket.

Well, Corteco has teamed up with the charity to help raise awareness about the health benefits of regular cabin air filter replacement.

• Apparently, without a properly functioning filter the air inside the vehicle cabin can be up to 6 times more polluting than outside
• And according to Asthma UK, 66% of people with asthma say that traffic fumes trigger their symptoms

So how did our friendly chuggers get on?

Well the shoppers of Wembley are clearly a generous and health conscious lot because a surprising number of them not only made a donation, but were really interested to find out how a cabin filter can help keep respiratory conditions under control.

Many of them had never even considered that their vehicle had a cabin filter before.

Or were they just hypnotised by Steve Jarnet’s new barnet?

Taking the Putting Asthma in the Limelight campaign tag quite literally, the normally impeccably dressed UK sales manager for Corteco ditched his sartorial pride for the day to don a lime green wig – and very fetching he looked too!

But back to the serious matter of filters, one lady, Mrs Jackie Togher from Collingdale, told me that she had just been to visit her friend’s daughter, who is recovering from an asthma attack, in hospital.

“It’s really scary,” she said. “I hadn’t heard about these filters before. I’m really interested in anything that can help.”

She took away two filters, one for herself and her small son, and the other for her friend, and headed off round the corner to Wembley Hill Garage to get her free fitting.

Educating motorists

Calvin, Wembley Hill’s main man, said he was looking forward to seeing more educated motorists in his workshop.

Unsurprisingly, he said that motorists never ask for their cabin air filter to be changed without prompting.

“Most of them don’t know what it is but it’s so important, especially when you’re driving bumper to bumper and can smell the exhaust fumes of the car in front.

“We always recommend charcoal filters.”

The Wembley charity event was the first in a nationwide tour for Corteco. It is working together with various distribution partners and local garages in its month-long campaign.

Apparently, there’s still time to get involved – and that means there’s still time to see the lesser-spotted Mr Jarnet in all his lime-green glory. Coming soon to a Tesco near you…

I challenge anyone who doubts the fantastic service on offer in the independent aftermarket to take a look at our website right now and walk away with the same view.

The messages of support that customers of motor factors, garages and retailers have left while voting for their 2010 aftermarket heroes are incredibly refreshing and really underline the passion and commitment of the people that make up this industry.

Of course you can read them all on our awards pages, but here are just a few of the comments we’ve received from motorists about independent garages who far too often get a raw deal.

I hope they brighten up your day.

• “TJ Hall and Son provide excellent service. I needed a replacement bulb the other morning and when I pulled up at 8:30am the mechanic came out and fitted one immediately so I was able to get to work on time.”
• “There are not many people to whom I would entrust my beloved Cobra! – I have no hesitation with ABP Motorsport.”
• “Dakar Cars are brilliant. Nothing is too much trouble, great service and the pricing is competitive.”

Back to the CAT Awards, voting is now closed, although my lips are sealed about the identities of our winners – sorry but rules are rules – so you’ll have to wait for the big announcements on the 22^nd of Jan.

It’s shaping up to be a fantastic event and the CAT team is looking forward to kicking off 2010 in style by welcoming all our guests at the fabulously luxurious Lensbury Hotel and Spa and sharing a few well-deserved celebratory drinks with you.

In the meantime, here’s wishing you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

In 2008 31k people visited Automechanika in Shanghai – a 40% increase on 2007

Do you have an ingrained tendency to recoil in horror at the mere mention of China in relation to the replacement parts market?

The country’s association with “white box” products or “Chinese copy parts” has, understandably, made a lot of legitimate traders in the UK view its exports with suspicion.

But although the association with counterfeit parts persists – only this summer Contitech successfully took one dodgy manufacturer there to task after it ripped off its belts – things are changing.

Already many of the biggest and most well respected parts suppliers are using Chinese factories or have opened their own manufacturing plants there.

Labour there is still relatively cheap (although wages are rising and thus becoming less competitive) and quality has improved dramatically – though you need to know where to find it.

China’s rise to global industrial super power was underlined this summer when it became the world’s largest automotive market with sales of 6.1m new cars in the first six months of the year – 1.3m more than in the US.

Sales forecasts of 11m vehicles by the end of 2009 would put the country’s motor industry 2m units ahead of 2007 figures. And this influx of new cars has created unprecedented demand for replacement parts and aftersales services.

Freedonia Group predicts that the aftermarket for light vehicle components in China will grow 17.9 percent annually through to 2011.

CAT GOES EAST
So what, if anything, does this all mean for the UK aftermarket and, ultimately, the companies working at the sharp end distributing installing and selling parts and accessories to the consumer?

In December, I’ll be putting my investigative hat on and jetting off to the fifth Automechanika exhibition in Shanghai to find out first hand.

It will be my first visit to China and, despite the fact that I’ll be spending more time on a plane and in an exhibition hall than out and about soaking up the sights and sounds of Shanghai, I’m really looking forward to it.

Yes I must confess that I am one of those strange people who actually enjoy airline food, although my experiences to date of exhibition hall fare have not been what you might call inspiring!

Can the Shanghai New International Expo centre rival the NEC in the sandwich stakes? After I’ve covered the serious stuff, I’ll report fully on this pressing question.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
But my real mission in Shanghai is to seek out opportunities for (and indeed potential threats to) the UK independent aftermarket.

So if you have a question you would like to put to the trade out there or an issue you’d like to look in to,
I’m your woman.

You can get in touch by emailing me at emma.butcher@haymarket.com, calling me on +44 (0) 208 267 5906 or even leaving a message on this post.

Hmmmm, a Porsche – mine if they’re out of Aston Martins – any model will do, I’m not a fussy kind of girl!

It is not very often that you get to witness a world first. But this week I was very excited to do just that.

While visiting Viezu, a new kid on the tuning block, the engine codes for a brand new Porsche Turbo were cracked for – as far as we know – the very first time outside of the hallowed halls of Porsche HQ.

It all happened in a corner of the company’s so-called “dream room” (a name, which might seem a little ostentatious for four plain walls within a pre-fab industrial unit in Bromsgrove, but they’re actually referring to the brains at work there).

These guys know their onions – their latest recruit, Mandy, for example, has just completed a degree in motorsport engineering and is just about to join the remapping team.

But I have to admit to feeling just a smidgeon let down by my first world-first: there were no fanfares, fireworks or even a speech – nope, this apparently is every-day stuff for Viezu’s engineers.

“We’re just about to crack this Porsche Turbo ECU; no one’s ever done it before but we need to do it now for a client in Dubai,” declared technical director Jayson rather matter of factly and not addressing anyone in particular.

Sensing I was about to be part of something BIG, I turned around, watched and waited with bated breath.

Nothing happened.

Then: “Well that’s that then – all sorted.” And Jayson made to walk out of the room.

“What? Have you done it?” I screeched?

“Well yes,” he said, looking somewhat confused by my excitement.

Well I suppose once you get used to this kind of thing, the novelty wears off. I’m sure I’ll be much more composed next time!

Seriously though, while it has traditionally been the preserve of the track-day fan and boy-racer, engine tuning, it seems, is ready to go mass-market.

And, according to Viezu’s dynamic chief executive Paul Busby and managing director Linda Williams, there could be big profit opportunities for the taking.

You can find out what they had to say on the matter by reading my interview with them, coming soon in the November issue of CAT.

The scrappage scheme has worked for VMs such as Ford but how is the aftermarket faring?

Today’s news that the Government is extending its scrappage incentive scheme is not so surprising really, given the inordinate amount of pressure heaped upon it by the new car sector – and others.

And let’s not forget that every Government as it draws nearer to a general election needs a crowd pleaser at its annual party conference.

Since its launch in May, the scheme has certainly proved its worth to VMs and their dealer networks, and has pumped much needed cash back into the new car market.

As one factor I bumped into last week argued: “It’s easy for the aftermarket to bash car makers but we do actually need them to produce the new cars that we service.”

As of today, 227,750 new cars have been purchased through the scheme – and in just four short months, that’s not bad going.

But what of the wider effects on the aftermarket? When the scheme was first mooted, it sparked a backlash from the independent sector.

Many told CAT that they feared such a scheme would mean losses for the parts replacement sector and for independent garages, which had been capitalising on consumers’ newfound frugality.

AFTERMARKET FEARS

Perhaps it’s too early to say whether these fears have been realised.

How many of the cars consigned to the scrap heap were kept effectively off-road and therefore not within the reach of the maintenance sector; how many would not yet have been due their MOT or service?

These are questions to which we don’t yet know the answers; but the anecdotal evidence I’ve heard from garages and factors is that it’s been pretty much business as usual.

But the long-term impact could be quite something. Most OE parts manufacturers are usually pretty quiet when it comes to this kind of issue, but it is almost certainly a worry for their aftermarket divisions.

At a press conference this summer, I asked NGK Europe’s deputy managing director, Norbert Neuhaus, what he expected would be the impact on his company’s aftermarket parts sales.

And refreshingly, he didn’t hesitate to answer: “We think the European car parc will lose 4 million cars to the scrappage scheme, which for us could translate to 16 million cylinders.”

That’s no small number.

And he added that it’s not just the parts market for vehicles in this country that will be affected.

Many cars, once they have reached the end of their wanted life here are shipped over to the developing world where they continue to require parts and service. That is business that is lost to the parts sector, too.

VANS NOW COVERED

What may provide a silver lining for the aftermarket is the news that, from today, vans aged 8 years and older are also covered by the scrappage scheme.

That could provide a boon to distributors wishing to breathe new life into their fleets.

Do you own a van(s) that falls into this age bracket? Is the £2000 incentive enough to make you consider renewing your fleet? Would you turn down the opportunity as a matter of principle? (I’m sure you’ll let me know just how silly a question that last one is!)

I’d love to hear from you on this issue – it’s one that we’ll be analysing further in future editions of CAT, so get in touch at emma.butcher@haymarket.com or by using the comment facility below.

We should all be doing more to help BEN

Just got back from a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon up at BEN’s beautiful Town Thorns care centre.

Today was our industry charity’s hotly anticipated annual awards ceremony, which it uses to say thank you to everyone who has lent support throughout the year.

The fact that the annual lunch at the Savoy had been downscaled was a poignant reminder of the difficulties the charity has had this year in raising funds.

But rather than being a glum affair, the sun was shining and the event was arguably made all the more relaxed by its smaller size.

Chatting to BEN’s chief exec, David Main, and president, Joe Greenwell, over a buffet lunch (and here, I have to take a moment congratulate the caterers for those damn fine cream cakes – a Homer Simpson moment for more than one of us!), it became clear that while BEN has had to make cut-backs, it is not sitting still.

There are some very big plans in the pipeline for a complete revamp of the facilities at Ascot, with lots of new homes to accommodate more people in need than ever before.

It’s still very early days, but we’ll bring you more on this and how you can help when the charity is in a better position to talk about progress.

I was really surprised to hear just how difficult it is to get aid from some local councils for affordable, sheltered housing. It seems that something of a postcode lottery applies – yet another reason for donating to BEN.

It was also an absolute pleasure to finally meet BEN’s bubbly new PR officer, Emily Bird.

We’ve been in touch a lot via email and phone since she joined so it was great to see her in person – and find out about her intolerance to meringue and balloons… best not to ask!

On to the awards… CAT mag was honoured to be nominated in recognition of all of the great editorial coverage and advertising the team has given to BEN.

We didn’t quite manage to win this year so we’ll be going all out over the next 12 months to do better next time!

Oh dear, that sounds like a warning that we’ll be asking you to get your wallets out!

But hopefully we’ll be able to have some fun while squeezing you for cash – all fundraising ideas welcomed!

Bit of a rant today, I’m afraid.

Just three months after getting my car back after my last encounter with an idiot driver, it felt almost like déjà vu when, on the same stretch of road, it almost happened again!

On my way to work this morning, yet another Dukes of Hazard wannabe came speeding down the outside lane and swerved left in front of me, narrowly missing my car before cutting back out, forcing the guy he’d undercut to slam on his brakes.

As that lane of traffic slowed up to the imminent roundabout, I drew alongside the vehicle and glanced over.

And I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to see someone with such little regard for their own or anyone else’s life with a mobile phone clamped to their ear. Priceless.

What makes it worse though is that vehicle in question bore the branding of a very well known parts supplier. Not good pr, I would suggest.

I know of at least one parts distributor that tracks the speed of its vehicle fleet in real time with dangerous driving a firing offence. Sounds good to me.

I was lucky enough to be one of the UK delegation of journos invited out to Dusseldorf in Germany to celebrate NGK Europe’s 30th birthday last week.

Founded in 1979, four years after NGK UK, NGK Europe today:

• is technical partner for 52 OEMs
• supplies 526 aftermarket customers
• is represented in 38 European countries

They’ve got a lot to celebrate – and boy do they know how to throw a party!

There were journalists from all over the world, and as anyone who has ever spent time in the bar with a hack will know, everyone was up for a good night.

No one was disappointed.

We were fed mammoth joints of meat (not of the woolly variety, although they were big enough to be from one) in true Bavarian style – delicious. And watered with locally brewed beer, followed by probably one too many Maltesers (not the chocolate sort).

With NGK UK’s Brian Childs and Gez Irving on top form as our generous hosts, the British crew was well looked after – and well entertained!

Now what takes place in the bar stays in the bar, so I’m not going to elaborate. I will say, though, that there were a few sore heads the next day – and it wasn’t all down to the booze…

But before I give you the wrong impression that life as an aftermarket journalist is one long party – we did do some work!

It was an absolute pleasure to be given a tour of NGK’s fascinating technical centre in Ratingen by the charming Stefan, who is always very gracious in spelling out the complex science bits – even to a hungover rabble.

It really was a great trip, so happy birthday NGK Europe and thank you. A fantastic company with a great heritage and, I’m sure, another successful 30 years to come.

The internet. As social animals we’ve embraced it fully, merrily twittering, blogging and facebooking away. But has the aftermarket really got it?

My recent experience with a bodyshop, which I won’t embarrass by identifying, tells me not.

Sorry guys, but you know the truth is that the circumstances that bring motorists to your door do not predispose us to enjoying doing business with you.

GENE HUNT

The particular circumstances that brought me to the door of this particular bodyshop were thrust upon me courtesy of the maniac driver (I use the word loosely) who ran me off the road at a speed of what must have been close to 60mph in a 30mph zone.

After cutting me up, he then proceeded to veer back across both lanes of the dual carriageway, bounce across the central reservation and screech to a halt facing the oncoming traffic – nice work, if you’re DCI Gene Hunt in Life on Mars.

Not so nice when you’re minding your own business and already running late to catch your plane to Italy for the Autopromotec show – made it, just!

Thankfully no one was hurt, although I had to use all my reserves of restraint as he shrugged his shoulders, got nonchalantly back in his car and drove off!

Despite him bumping conspicuously along on a badly buckled wheel, the police didn’t manage to bring him in. But that’s a whole other saga best saved for when I’m feeling calmer.

ONLINE REPAIR TRACKING

But I digress. Back to the bodyshop.

Having written countless words in the past about the good sense in garages getting online and making the consumer experience as pain-free as possible, I was delighted to find that this workshop had done just that.

Its “exciting new service” – and I have to admit, not getting out much these days that I was pretty excited – allows you to track your vehicle’s repair online!

Fantastic, I thought, no more waiting around for someone to answer the phone and dig out my vehicle’s details to update me.

It didn’t quite work like that. The first time I logged on, I was greeted with words to the effect: “There’s a possibility that your car could be a write-off”. That was it. Nothing else. No explanation or reassurance.

And it was a Sunday, so speaking to an actual, live, human being was out.

On Monday I tried again, and this time the status had changed. It seemed the car wasn’t a write-off after all and – great news – the repair was now 30 percent complete!

On Tuesday it was 50 percent done and by Wednesday it had reached the staggering readiness of 70 percent!

NO NEWS IS NOT GOOD NEWS

But what did it all mean? Who knows, certainly not me – it took another week before the car was back on the road.

And it seems that the customer service team was rather too excited about the effectiveness of the system because no one was answering the phone either.

The whole experience left me feeling even angrier than when my car was trashed in the first place.

What made it more frustrating was that this was a bodyshop clearly trying to do the right thing but at the last minute seemingly getting carried away with the technology and forgetting about the most important thing – the customer.

The web is a wonderful thing when it’s used properly and a vehicle tracking system is, in theory, the best thing you can do for your customer short of telling them you’ve fixed their motor for free.

But you’ve got to give them information that actually means something. And sometimes, a conversation with someone who knows what they’re talking about is the only thing that will do.