Page 26 - Australasian Paint & Panel Magazine Jan-Feb 2019

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BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
26 Market Intelligence • 30 Tech Talk I-Car •
T
PAINT&PANEL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2019
A GROWTH INDUSTRY
SHOULD YOU BE READYING YOUR WORKSHOP FOR A STEADY INFLUX OF EVER LARGER VEHICLES, AS THE MOVE TOWARDS SUVS AND MEGA-UTES GROWS, AND DO YOU NEED TO INSTALL ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGERS, AND EV-SPECIFIC SAFETY EQUIPMENT?
MOTORING JOURNALIST STEPHEN CORBY INVESTIGATES.
HE CAR MARKET OF TODAY
would look so unrecognisa- ble to someone living in the 1990s that it would seem as shocking to them as the existence of iP- hones, reality television (and the US Presidents it produces) and our revolv-
ing-door policy for Prime Ministers. Picture yourself, back in the 90s, be- ing told that station wagons would al- most cease to exist, replaced by giant, lumbering SUVs (and small, silly ones), or that Australians would take to pick-up trucks with genuine Ameri- can passion, and you would have laughed it off as an absurd case of Co-
ca-Colonisation.
What was even more unimaginable
was the existence of a company like Te- sla, which would somehow make a liv- ing selling only electric vehicles (EVs), or the global march away from increas- ingly expensive petrol, and dangerous diesel towards EVs and hybrids.
As Jaguar’s head designer, Ian Cal- lum, has said, the basic looks and mo- tive force of cars has barely changed for 50 years, but in the last five years, and the next 10, it is on the way to being en- tirely different.
Those changes, as many and myriad as they may be, are something that car repairers need to be prepared for.
Should you be readying your work- shop for a steady inflow of ever larger vehicles, as the move towards SUVs and mega-utes grows over the next few years, and do you need to install elec- tric-vehicle chargers, and EV-specific safety equipment - and staff training - to prepare for this near future?
BIG, BIGGER, BIGGEST
If you haven’t already invested in equip- ment designed to help you cope with an influx of ever-larger seven-seat family SUVs and suburban-warrior pick-up trucks, and organised bigger work bays, now is definitely the time. The trend isn’t just slipping towards bigger vehicles, it’s tumbling inexorably in that direction.
In June, 2018, Australians bought more utes and SUVs than in any other month in our car-buying history.
Even more amazingly, utes, rather than SUVs, were the top-three sellers outright in that month, with the Toyota HiLux, Mitsubishi Triton and Ford Rang- er pushing more familiar favourites like the Mazda3, Toyota Corolla and Hyun- dai i30 right off the sales podium. And this is a trend that’s only accelerating.
While the three small cars mentioned did still make it into the top six - indicat- ing yet another shift from the 1990s, when Falcon and Commodore-style se- dans were the family cars of choice - they are then followed by two more
pseudo SUVs in the shape of Mazda’s CX-5 and the Toyota RAV4.
The giant, and entirely American- looking, pick-up truck Holden Colorado rounded out the top 10 sales in Australia for the month.
Experts claim that utes, even more so than bigger trucks, are replacing the for- merly beloved option of large sedans or wagons, because family buyers treat them like SUVs, thanks to their now more comfort-focused, and safety-equip- ment equipped, approach.
As one Ford dealer told The Daily Tel- egraph recently, “People often ask us where Falcon buyers went. They went into these (Ranger utes).”
Bigger isn’t just better, it seems, it’s the new go-to option for singles and families of all sizes. Even wealthier people who’ve long owned cars like a BMW 3 Series seem to have decided they’d feel more manly, and more capable, with an X4 or X5.
No matter what price point buyers can afford, though, they’re aiming to maximise the metal they get for their investment, and
Let’s find out.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Hyundai i30 has been a storming success. Tesla should become
a more affordable brand when the Model 3 eventually launches.