• 99.7% of garages open for servicing business during lockdown 2.0
• Nearly twice as many MOT sites open for business in lockdown 2.0 compared with first lockdown

Company car and van drivers have had no problem getting their vehicles serviced or MOT'd in lockdown 2.0 according to the latest survey by Fleet Assist of its garage network.

Eighteen days into lockdown 2.0 4,963 (99.7%) garages said they were fully open and just 16 garages (0.3%) were closed out of Fleet Assist's 5,000-strong network.

This has spelt good news for Fleet Assist's contract hire, leasing and rental customers who collectively operate more than one million vehicles.

That compares with 2,189 (46%) of garages that were open and 2,511 (54%) that were closed at the same time during the first lockdown out of a total of 4,700 sites.

Fleet Assist says the UK MOT network which suffered from many backlogs earlier in the year is also in good shape with 4,341 Class 4, 503 Class 5 and 1,370 Class 7 sites already open for business – a total of 6,214. That compares with 3,220 sites that were open for business at the beginning of May (2,101 Class 4, 308 Class 5 and 811 Class 7 sites).

"The servicing and MOT landscape in the UK looks very different now than it did in the first lockdown. All garages have learnt from their experiences first time round and have strict procedures in place that have enabled them to stay open for business. This is good news for the economy and for the company car and van driver," explained Chris Crow, Fleet Assist's head of network.

"This has also helped reduce the backlog of servicing and MOTs from earlier in the year," he added.

Fleet Assist is celebrating another milestone as over 3,800 of its network, which comprises franchised, fast fit and independent garages, are capable of working on hybrid and electric vehicles.

To be recognised as a 'hybrid and EV ready' garage a technician will have completed, as a minimum, the IMI Level 2 qualification in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Operation and Maintenance and have suitable premises.

This gives technicians the knowledge and skills required to work safely on electric/hybrid vehicles whilst carrying out diagnostic, testing and repair activities.

With hundreds and thousands of hybrid and electric cars being sold since 2017 and the number of fleet vehicles using its network passing 1.1 million, becoming 'hybrid and EV ready' continues to be an important part of Fleet Assist's network strategy.

Alphabet (GB) utilises Fleet Assist's maintenance network for its 138,000-strong vehicle fleet and like all leasing fleets is experiencing a large demand for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Alphabet's Interim Chief Operating Officer, Clive Buhagiar said: "Following the improved government incentives offered to those choosing electric and hybrid vehicles, the network is growing at a rapid pace.

"It's important that garages understand how to support these drivers and are future proofing their businesses.

"We're delighted to be working with Fleet Assist who have been working on this initiative for a number of years now.

"At Alphabet, we are taking an ever-increasing number of orders for electric and hybrid vehicles, so together with Fleet Assist, our customers can be safe in the knowledge that we have a service, maintenance and repair network that can cater for their differing needs."

Fleet Assist's Managing Director Vincent St Claire said: "We have been working on ensuring our network could deal with the marketplace changes since 2017 and as early as 2018 50% had this capability.

"It's testament to the relationship we have with our network and through the use of our Atlas business intelligence system that the capability of each garage is recorded and available to our customers.

"This is supported by periodic audits which are completed by our network development team to ensure we direct the servicing work to the most relevant garages," he added.

Tusker, the Car Benefit People, has extended Fleet Assist's contract to provide its garage network and service bookings services for a further three years .

Fleet Assist has a network of 4,700 garages, all with service level agreements in place, including negotiated labour, parts and fluid terms. Tusker's customers receive a consistent UK-wide service, as well as keeping maintenance costs under control from Fleet Assist which runs the largest network management team in the industry which is closely monitored using its class-leading systems.

Additionally, Tusker will continue to use Fleet Assist to provide a vehicle service booking facility to direct customers towards its preferred garage network.

Tusker has grown its fleet to over 20,000 cars in the past 20 years and Fleet Assist has been working with Tusker since 2006.

"Fleet Assist is renown as a specialist and has been an integral supplier in helping us grow for nearly 15 years. Wherever our drivers are based we know its garage network will deliver a very consistent and high level of customer service on our behalf," explained Kit Wisdom, Tusker's Operations Director.

"Access to its sophisticated Atlas IT system ensures we have the business intelligence to help us understand fleet maintenance trends in great detail. We can view trends daily and drill down and analyse all of our data right down to detail on individual vehicle's SMR profile whilst it is on our fleet."

Wisdom continues "Since the changes to 0% BIK for battery electric vehicles, Tusker's drivers have swiftly been moving towards electrification. Fleet Assist has ensured that we have the right balance of franchised and independent repairers that have electrification capabilities."

Karen Ewer, Fleet Assist's Head of business development said: "Our partnership with Tusker is very strong and we have enjoyed celebrating their fleet growth. We help them understand how fleet SMR expenditure continues to change and how savings can be made by comparing different manufacturers, makes and models."

"Ultimately our service booking and network is set up to deliver market leading driver experience and provide operational efficiencies for Tusker," said Ewer.

In recent weeks nearly 20 franchised dealers have either closed or are set to close following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, and Fleet Assist is highlighting these closures could potentially give rise to servicing and warranty challenges for fleets.

"Over the recent weeks as new scenarios emerged, my team has provided a comprehensive mapping service to our fleet customers to ensure, wherever possible, alternative garages are available for work direction and business continuity," explained Vincent St Claire, Fleet Assist's managing director.

"With the challenges faced by COVID-19, including the potential for further spikes and subsequent lockdowns, we have highlighted how a robust SMR garage network management with the scale and capabilities to meet these ever-changing requirements, is key to keeping drivers' cars roadworthy.

"In today's environment to simply say you have a list of garages with assumed terms, is not good enough. A network of garages with contracted terms, defined SLAs and a clear indication of their capabilities proactively and continually managed by a dedicated team, is essential," he added.

Even during the recent lockdown Fleet Assist using desktop audit capabilities proactively recruited a further 30 dealers to its 4,700 strong network of garages to meet the needs of its customers during the initial lockdown.

It reported that on average 46% of its garage network remained open during the April lockdown, equating to 2,177 sites. That figure is forecast to rise above 50% during May and is expected to further increase in June and into early July when it anticipates its network of over 4,700 garages should be fully operational.

Fleet Assist has been providing its contract hire, leasing and rental customers, who collectively operate more than one million vehicles, with regular updates on its garage network coverage throughout the lockdown. They have been using this to help companies plan their employee and vehicle return to work strategies.

"The servicing network has remained very resilient during lockdown, particularly across the independent and fast fit sectors. Even those franchised dealers that had officially closed were willing to open to maintain key workers' cars. They have been at the top of every garage's priority lists", explained Vincent St Claire, Fleet Assist's managing director.

"The maintenance network is already scaling up to manage the expected backlog of service jobs that will be forthcoming when lockdown is relaxed", he added.