What difficulties do European car repair shops face?

Running small and medium-sized enterprises brings many difficulties, especially in the automotive industry. What are the biggest problems the car repair shops are facing?

A universal European problem for car repair shops

Almost unanimously, representatives of Europe’s car repair shop community reported in our survey that their biggest problem is the high cost of doing business and a lack of qualified personnel. High costs are most burdensome for Hungarians, while shortages of skilled labour are the biggest problem for businesses in Romania.

Undoubtedly, the high cost of business operations is due in large part to inflation, which has affected all of Europe.

Currently, the cost of doing business is so high that salary increases or expenses for specialised training, during which the employee does not earn a salary, are increasingly difficult to accept by car repair shop owners. Meanwhile, a well-qualified employee who is familiar with the ins and outs of vehicle repairs knows how much his work is worth.

Why do car repair shops lack the technical data needed for repairs?

The trend is clear in the survey results. There is a greater problem with access to technical data in developed countries. This situation may be due to the fact that they have a younger car fleet, and access to technical data for the latest cars is not only more difficult but also more expensive.

Are car repair shops running out of customers?

Without customers, no enterprise can function. In this regard, the survey results look really optimistic. Undoubtedly, this should have a positive impact on the financial performance of the car repair shops, yet through the great increase in operating costs, this is not happening.

Research methodology

The survey which served as the source for the claims in this article was conducted by MotoFocus.eu, in the form of an online interview among car repair shops. In total, over 1130 individuals took part in the survey.