This new year could prove to be an interesting one for the UK's automotive market. Challenges are set to continue, and decisions will be made that could alter the country's powertrain landscape.

But the year starts off with the same story. Pothole damage is increasing, and councils are not paying out. With National Pothole Day, is this a recognition of the pothole itself, or the people that work hard to ensure that drivers can stay on the road, even if those roads are crumbling.

Auto Repair Focus is also launching a new series for 2026. Garage Focus is looking for participants, who want their business to appear on screen, and to discuss the future of the aftermarket. If you would like to take part, contact Auto Repair Focus Editor Phil Curry - phil@autorepairfocus.com

Finally, we catch up with Andy Waite from Veloris to discuss the battery market, and why garages should be checking every battery on vehicles that enter their workshop, especially as the weather turns colder...

Links referenced in this episode:

1. autorepairfocus.com

Companies mentioned in this episode:

1. SMMT
2. The Motor Ombudsman
3. DVSA
4. Valoris
5. RAC

Foreign.

Hello, and welcome to Auto Transmission, the podcast from Auto Repair Focus.

Feels very odd to be saying that.

It was just over two weeks ago.

This is going to be an interesting year for the independent aftermarket.

There's going to be changes in powertrain diversity as electric car sales increase and older electric cars come into independent garages.

And we did see a boom in registrations about three years ago.

And what would be the actual impact of that on the independent aftermarket?

Cars would get older.

Always a good thing for workshops, having to conduct servicing.

These are some interesting points that we're going to be covering throughout the year.

But whatever happens, Auto Repair Focus is going to be there to bring you the latest news, the latest products and more.

We've also got an interview with Andy Waite from Valoris, formerly Ecobat Batteries, about what garages can do to ensure their customers are making the most of their batteries, but also replacing them at the right time and how garages can help with that.

But first, as always, let's find out what's been going on with the aftermarket news.

That's according to the latest data from the SMMT.

December was the sixth month of improvement in the UK market, with an equal number of ups and downs.

2025 provided a mixed reception for new cars as internal combustion engine popularity dropped.

In addition, electric vehicle confusion continued, while the full hybrid sector also slowed.

While the figures are encouraging, the UK's automotive industry was presented with a number of hurdles to overcome last year.

That's according to the motor ombudsman's latest annual survey of independent garages and franchise dealer workshops.

A convergence of skills is set to happen, with several issues combining to create hurdles for businesses this year.

Compensation claims for pothole damage have jumped by 91% in three years, with more drivers than ever seeking for repair reimbursement.

The statistics come from a Freedom of Information request submitted to 207 councils across England, Scotland and Wales.

Wales.

And finally, the DVSA has highlighted the need for MOT testers to complete their MOT training and assessment before the 31 March deadline.

The government body has stated that each year it has seen an increase in the number of testers completing their MOT annual training on time.

To help towards this goal, the DVSA has highlighted the information needed for testers to complete the MOT annual training on its Matters of Testing blog.

You can find more information on this and other news stories@autorepairfocus.com and don't forget to sign up to the Weekly Insight newsletter to stay up to date with all that's happening in the automotive aftermarket.

But one feature, probably the feature that really started our run of video features on Auto repair focus is quite relevant today, the day this podcast comes out, 15th of January.

Now, I don't know if you've noticed it.

I certainly have.

There seems to be a national day for pretty much everything in the modern world.

And believe it or not, 15 January is national pothole Day.

So it's a day when we should be talking about potholes, maybe celebrating them.

I don't know what you do on a national day, but it is interesting because the pothole pandemic is increasing.

I've.

I've noticed it.

In my local authority, most of the roads are, are covered in, or covered in, are falling apart, basically.

And when I am able to drive my car, and that's a completely different story at the moment, but when I am, I'm finding bumps and sunken manhole covers and, and roads that are literally coming apart.

Now, one of the first features that we did was actually on potholes and why garages need to be getting involved in repairing and checking for pothole damage.

And that's because of what we have termed as the pothole pandemic.

And it's still as important as ever.

It's.

If there's one subject that gets the British public talking, it's annoyance around potholes.

The problem we have is councils and local authorities don't seem to be able to spend money on repairing roads.

And when they do, other roads get left by the wayside and then they fall apart.

So it's a, it's a real chicken and egg kind of scenario.

Whereas, you know, you do that one, but then that one falls apart.

You do that one, that one falls apart and you don't know where it's going to happen.

A pothole has to appear first for it to be repaired.

But modern cars are becoming much more sensitive.

The suspension setup, the geometry, the, the ADAS sensors which, in a knock or a whack and an improper wheel alignment can, can throw things out.

So it really is crucial for, for garages, and I will always say this, it is crucial for garages to get involved.

Now, yes, there is a profit stream, of course there is, but we don't want to be talking about taking advantage of a situation.

And unfortunately, potholes are a situation.

What we want to be doing as an industry is highlighting that, yeah, this is going to happen, you're going to hit a pothole.

I mean, I honestly, I have my wheel alignment checked so often last year and we've got a, an upcoming feature on wheel alignment which will be landing on YouTube at the end of this month.

So make sure that you subscribe to the auto repair focus YouTube channel.

Just search for Auto Repair Focus.

Click and like and you'll get notifications on all of our videos.

Great content coming up.

And while you're at it, check out Instagram and Tick Tock as well.

Again, search for Auto Repair Focus Shameless Plug.

But we also need making sure that we're catering and making sure drivers are okay because hitting a pothole isn't nice.

It sends a jolt through you.

You get worried about damage to your car.

And if a driver is going to hit a pothole, they're going to want to get it checked out more so than ever.

And they're going to want to come into a garage and they're going to want to be able to be told, yes, this is the problem.

Your wheel alignment geometries is completely out of whack.

Here's the printout to show you that.

Or your suspension is damaged.

This is what we can do.

The winter months are probably some of the most crucial for vehicle repairs because, you know, the roads are falling apart, slippery conditions, drivers hopefully checking their tires, making sure they're okay and needing them to be replaced because they want better grip out there, especially if it snows or if it's icy.

But National Pothole Day is a day of awareness around potholes.

It's a day of not so much celebrating the potholes, but just to show what we can do as an industry.

Potholes are a scourge of roads and people are getting angrier now and talking about it.

There's probably going to be a lot of hashtags around potholes.

Just get involved with that.

So, yeah, National Pothole Day.

Be ready, be prepared and.

And celebrate potholes, I guess.

Now, before we get into our interview, I do just want to touch on the features that we've got coming up on auto repair focus.com this year.

The reason I'm doing that is not because, well, yes, obviously I want to champion what we're going to be putting out because there's going to be some fantastic interviews, some really great insights.

Just is what the platform is for.

There's a new series called called Garage Focus and it is literally that we want to come down to your business film, interview yourself or your staff, find out what makes your business tick and also what you think about the industry and what direction it's going in.

And that will go up on our YouTube channel.

Great promotion for yourselves, but also giving you an opportunity to speak to like minded garages and the industry in at large.

I'm very passionate about the aftermarket, in case you couldn't tell.

And I'm really passionate about giving garages a voice.

And I think, you know, we, I mean as an industry there is this obviously this annoying perception about.

Yeah.

And some people will say, oh, garage is going to rip me off and you know, some social media advertising on a certain vehicle remote diagnostic program doesn't help.

But I want to sort of champion you guys.

I mean as a journalist I, I very rarely get my hands dirty.

I've got a bit of a technical background, but I mean all the work that you do, those of you who are listening to this podcast, who work in garages, who run garages, I am in awe of what you do.

Absolutely.

And what you do on day in, day out to keep this country running.

And I really want to champion that.

So Garage Focus is that it's showcasing your business on YouTube, on our YouTube channel and giving you an opportunity and a platform to talk about the industry.

Now all we would need from yourselves is a date that we can turn up, the permission to film.

And that's basically it.

So if you want to get involved, then drop me a line.

Now I'll leave a couple of details in the show notes of this episode, but if you want to get involved, just drop me a line.

PhilToRepairFocus.com put a subject heading.

I don't know, please come and visit my garage.

I'd really want to be part of Garage Focus or something along those lines.

But honestly, really, really want to, to get to know you all.

No matter what size of business you have, whether it's it's a large chain or a small under the arches operation, doesn't matter.

You're all important to drivers, you're all important to the aftermarket and we want to get to know you.

So drop me an email and I hope I can come see you soon.

But on top of that, yeah, some fantastic features.

Have a look at again YouTube channel auto pair focus.com I know this is a shameless plug, but this is the first podcast of the year, so you won't hear much more about this from me in future episodes.

But really do you know, check out autorepairfocus.com and sign up to the Insight newsletter as well.

Of course, it's not just potholes we need to be thinking about as we come into winter.

There's also the issue of battery failure as the weather turns colder, although I'm saying that at the moment while it's around about 7 or 8 degrees, which feels very odd for a January, but we've had cold snaps and it will get colder, trust me.

So, batteries more prone to failure and in today's cars, more likely to come into the garage, not just because they're difficult to fit, being located under crash panels, or a bit more difficult to do, but also because the electronics in the car are more complex and rely on consistent power supply.

With that in mind, I caught up with Andy Waite from Valoris, from formerly Ecobat Battery to discuss why garages should be checking every battery that comes into their workshop process.

Which, by the way, found that my battery was on its way out and probably saved me from a cold morning trying to start my car and then thinking about how I'm going to get it to a garage.

But also the importance of making sure that even when a vehicle is under test, under diagnostic checks, the battery being powered because it's on all the time is really key.

And again, with a weak battery, especially at this time of year, time of year, time of year, it's important to maintain the battery as best as possible.

So the first thing I should be asking is, should garages be testing every battery that comes into their workshop?

Yes, Bill, 100%, yeah.

And what are the benefits of doing, doing that for them?

It's quick and easy to do.

It's a pretty straightforward process.

Batteries are normally pretty accessible in a vehicle.

Easy to find.

There's things, there's resources available online to look up the correct battery for a vehicle, and that will often include where the battery location is.

Sometimes they're in boots, sometimes they're under bonnets, occasionally they're under seats, which are trickier.

But, yeah, they're normally pretty accessible.

The details that you enter into the battery tester are on the battery label itself.

So it's just a case of picking out the amp hours and the cold cranking amps for the tester.

A conductance tester will provide a state of charge and state of health of the vehicle battery.

If it's on a low state of charge, you can charge it for the customer while we're working on it, while it's in the workshop.

If it's showing a low state of health, then you can advise the customer that the battery is potentially nearing the end of its life.

There's an opportunity then to change it for them or for the customer to go away and come back another time if it's more convenient.

To it's a valuable service for your customers.

It shows that the workshop cares about the health of the customer's vehicle.

But it's also worth considering what happens if you don't test the battery in the workshop.

So if you're running any sort of diagnostics and the battery is not supported, it's going to drain it.

You've then potentially got the risk for a couple of weeks later, that battery's been in a low state of charge, it could let the customer down and in which case, who's the customer going to blame?

The vehicle's just been in for service repair, mot, whatever it happens to be, two weeks later the car's broken down.

It's natural that they're going to feel disappointed that that's happened.

And then, of course, it's an inconvenience.

They've got to sort out a replacement.

It's probably while they're trying to get ready for work.

So they risk having to call out breakdown services or having to go to Halfords and pay more than they might want to for that replacement battery, which could, of course, all have been avoided if it had been tested at the time it was in the workshop and the customer advised accordingly.

So, yeah, it risks reputational damage, the customer inconvenience and the additional costs having to be borne by the customer for a replacement battery when they weren't expecting it.

So that respect, I mean, should a battery tester be a vital part of equipment for every garage?

Yeah, definitely.

They're not very expensive.

150 to 200 pounds can get you a decent quality conductance tester with a principal test certificate that gives clear evidence to the customer that you've performed that test and what it's found.

There are more advanced battery testers available.

We work with Roadtronics who are a real specialist in battery charging and diagnostics, and we work with them.

If we need more detailed charging and testing details, principally around fleets, commercial vehicle fleets, PSV fleets, that sort of thing.

But yeah, generally for workshop use, a battery testers and inexpensive, a relatively inexpensive investment.

So are modern vehicles putting more strain on their batteries?

I'm thinking.