Stronger together – the role of workshop concepts and training in the aftermarket’s future

In my last blog, I wrote about how LKQ Europe and its businesses will be focused on supporting the aftermarket’s transition into the future.??

In this post, I wanted to touch on one of the many tangible ways in which we’re doing that right now, which is providing our independent customers with powerful partnerships that can help level-up their businesses to compete with national chains.??

There are two key prongs to our approach to partnering for growth with our customers – the workshop concept networks we run, and the professional and certified training courses we offer via the LKQ Academy.???

LKQ Europe’s concept brand network now counts some 8,000 independent workshops among its members. The network spans 18 different countries and represents just shy of 7% of Europe s ’entire independent aftermarket.??

In some territories, workshop concepts are already a major part of the local market. In the Netherlands Belgium for example, around 80% of independent garages belong to one. Whereas in others, workshop concepts take up a sizeable but still growing share – accounting for around a quarter of independent operators in the UK.??

Put simply, workshop concepts help independents to compete on a more level playing field. The brands are a mark of quality that workshop partners use to signal that they provide an excellent standard of service, use high quality parts and that their teams will be supported with training and expertise.??

This is especially relevant in our rapidly evolving vehicle parc. I’m not just thinking about battery electric vehicles or ADAS here – although of course the latest technologies are relevant in terms of things like preferential access to parts, equipment, and training – I’m talking about the changing nature of vehicle ownership.?

A much greater proportion of vehicles on Europe’s roads are no longer owned by the driver, but by a fleet or leasing company. And it’s those companies that become the ultimate decision-makers on where a vehicle gets repaired or serviced.??

Recognized networks that have scale and digitized customer platforms are the only workshops that can really compete for commercial agreements with these sorts of customers.??

As well as leveraging our pan-European scale to maximise the value-add for our workshop partners with shared best practice and digital solutions, and marketing, technical and business support and training, we are helping them to open up new business opportunities through our approach to strategic partnerships.??

Our concepts network is a key part of our strategic objective of supporting customer growth, which is why we are aiming to have 10,000 workshops on board across Europe by 2026.??

LKQ Academy plays a big part in supporting our concept partners, but its courses are available to everyone in the industry. We are Europe’s leading training provider to the aftermarket. There are more than 2,200 courses available in 14 different languages.??

It supports core skills development but, like the concept networks, it also helps workshops and technicians to prepare for the future. I have already mentioned training in areas like hybrid and EV, but that’s the tip of the iceberg; there are also courses for customer-facing staff like reception and marketing teams.??

Just as we are with concepts, we are investing significantly in LKQ Academy: improving, and expanding its in-country networks of training facilities and making more courses available.??

Our aim is to help independents to fill gaps in their offerings through our investments in concept networks and LKQ Academy. This way they can continue to offer motorists the personal, local service that has always been so valuable - but now one that is as well-rounded, up to date and professionalized as anything their customers might find at a franchise.?