High voltage in the automotive workshop: are you in a good position?
High-voltage PTC air or water heaters are usually used to heat the interior in winter, and in many cases a heat pump is also used. Furthermore, the waste heat from the electric motors and the battery packs is also used today. Ultimately, the aim is to protect the high-voltage batteries as much as possible so as not to negatively affect the vehicle's range.
All these systems need to be maintained. For example, using the right coolant also plays a role. "Regularly servicing the thermal management system is the oil change of the future," expert Andreas Lamm says in a specialist article found on the industry portal at www.krafthand.de.
Why does an electric car have a 12 V battery?
The classic 12 V vehicle battery also plays an important role in electric vehicles. It supplies the vehicle's low-voltage system and ensures, for example, that the central locking system, the interior lighting, the on-board computer and, most importantly, the control units function correctly. This also includes windscreen wipers, lighting or steering assistance systems. Ultimately, it serves as a back-up to maintain key safety functions in the electric vehicle if the high-voltage system fails. And by the way, electric cars have no alternator. A DC converter charges the 12 V battery.
High-voltage vehicles in your workshop: work more on communication
Can you also do "electric"?
When an appointment is scheduled at your workshop, your customers have known for a long time that they can trust you as a professional. It is usually irrelevant which vehicle model, engine or version is involved. But does this also stretch to electric vehicles? In actual fact, many independent workshops have to communicate more: many customers do not know that they can also do "electric".
Exciting perspectives
It is a fundamental business decision to embrace high-voltage vehicles. At the same time, a new, additional business field with reliable growth potential is opening up. Deciding on this goes hand in hand with staff having the appropriate qualifications, investing in the appropriate workshop equipment and being willing to have an external independent audit carried out. Ultimately, it also makes a statement to your own employees: "We are open to technology, looking ahead and securing jobs for the future". However, such commitment only pays off if the workshop customers are aware of it.
In the end, communication comes into play!
They still exist, good old invoices, cost estimates, advertising e-mails to existing customers or business cards, all in paper form. So you can also change your traditional means of communication and put your "exciting" message in place. Of course, this also applies to other advertising media and especially to your internet presence. According to the latest DAT report, 17 per cent of potential workshop customers have used the Internet in advance without prior knowledge when they had a service or repair requirement. All in all, the broader you communicate, the better you will be found. Authentic and open communication, whether using short background stories on social media or in a self-made video, using the motto "We can also do electric", also generates support and credibility and definitely connects you with new customers!
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