E-mobility is on the rise – with consequences for independent workshops. Frank Demmler of the multi-brand workshop Autoservice Demmler successfully converted his business years ago. Read how he did it and the tips he gives other workshops in the interview.
Mr. Demmler, in addition to the classic workshop business, electromobility has also been a central component of your company for years. How did this develop?
It all started with an inquiry from the Saxon Energy Agency. It had launched the “Electromobility Showcase” project to make e-vehicles more popular in rural areas and we took part in it. We wanted to cover the entire spectrum of e-mobility, from the sun to the car so to speak, so we built our own energy network, with several photovoltaic systems and a combined heat and power plant on our premises. We use the plant to generate sustainable energy, which we feed into charging stations for e-vehicles.
We also moved quickly into the market for renting and selling e-cars. We’re an independent multi-brand workshop, and as such we want to offer the entire range of services related to vehicles – so rental and sales of e-cars have also been part of our business from the very beginning. For a few years now, our pool has had around 50 e-vehicles, including Teslas with a range of up to 500 kilometers.
The switch to e-mobility also meant you had to invest in new technical equipment. How would you advise other workshops who are planning to invest in this?
If a workshop wants to offer e-mobility, it will have to expect some costs for the necessary equipment. However, some things can also be covered through cooperative ventures with photovoltaic companies, for example, or companies that manufacture charging stations. The workshop provides the e-vehicles in return for support with workshop equipment, and of course, you don’t have to buy everything at once. The same rule applies here as with all other investments – it shouldn’t knock your business off its feet if it doesn’t work out.
Source: Benjamin Krohn
What role do employees play when it comes to e-mobility on the shop floor?
A good point – because it won’t work if you don’t have the right people. E-mobility is a topic that involves a lot of intensive customer advice. First of all, they want information about the vehicle, but they also want to know about subsidy opportunities, the charging infrastructure and so on. Workshops can take on a key expert role here, and that will add a new focus to their business – but you must have people working for you who really want to do this kind of work. What you have to realize is that some employees simply have more affinity for e-mobility than others; you can’t force anyone to get involved with it.
We gave all our employees the opportunity to borrow an e-vehicle over the weekend, so they could simply try out for themselves how an e-car feels and drives. That made a lot of difference!
My tip is simple – just think like an entrepreneur. If your workshop doesn’t have an automotive mechanic who’s interested in learning about electricity, you can also hire an electrician who’s interested in e-cars. That worked really well for us.
And by the way, e-mobility is also an important factor for gaining employees, because that’s how you show that your company is moving with the times, which really appeals to young job applicants. We have trainees with us who only applied because of our e-mobility offers. The impact e-mobility can have shouldn’t be underestimated.
What else does a workshop need to make it fit for e-mobility?
The right attitude! Change happens when it’s forced upon you by outside influences, or when you’re willing to look for new opportunities by leaving your usual business practices behind you for a time. In my opinion, the second way is the better one. So why not just get into an e-car yourself and try out the acceleration and the driving experience? You can achieve a lot with an open mind, enthusiasm and some pioneering spirit.
I’ve always been attracted by challenges and I love trying something new. We should try to go through life keeping an open mind, without closing our eyes and our minds to new opportunities.
How did you convince customers of your offers for e-mobility?
They were very hesitant at first. We started integrating e-mobility into our business a good 8 years ago. At that time, the topic was seen with a good deal more skepticism than it is today. We didn’t have much of an advertising budget either, so we tried other ways to get our customers interested.
The important thing is to make it easy for customers. Our e-vehicles were always on show, and when we felt that the moment was right, we offered customers a chance to try them out. Renting out the vehicles has also done a lot to break down customers’ inhibitions, because if I like something, I’ll naturally tell others about it and offer them a trial run, so we needed relatively little effort to advertise what we were offering. And of course the Tesla vehicles also do quite a bit for our image.
Do you remember being proud of any particular success you had with your e-mobility program?
Yes, one story has stuck in my mind – a retired customer brought his car in for service. We offered him an e-car as a temporary replacement – but he wasn’t too keen on our suggestion. The next day he came back to pick up his car driving the combustion automobile we had lent him. However, he had obviously been thinking about the e-vehicle, so he wanted to try it out with a short test drive. When he got out of the car, he was beaming all over. We call this the “Tesla grin”! Of course, he was a little annoyed that he hadn’t accepted the e-car as a temporary replacement the day before!
Do you have any more useful tips for our readers?
You have to have a solid network. I regularly go to a regional entrepreneurs’ roundtable and share ideas with the others there. It’s helpful to have your own ideas assessed by an outsider – and it’s comforting when you hear that things don’t always go perfectly for others either.
What would you say to workshops that are still skeptical about e-mobility?
First off, I’d tell them that not every workshop has to jump into e-mobility feet first. Some have found their niche in the combustion sector and can build on that in the long term. Everyone has to tread their own path. However, it’s a fact that e-mobility really does convince customers that you’re competent and keeping up with the times. The saying is: “If you can repair e-vehicles, you also know combustion engines inside out.” It’s not a matter of converting the entire business to e-mobility overnight. However, you should remain aware of the potential involved.
Just taking part is all-important!
With e-mobility, digitalization, new services and more, independent workshops currently have a few challenges to overcome. Does your company also have exciting ideas or concepts on how to implement these topics? Do you know any special tips and tricks that you would like to share with the readers of our magazine? Let us know at info@continental-aftermarket.com
Source: Benjamin Krohn
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