Independent servicing and repair company mycar Tyre & Auto, formerly known as Kmart Tyre & Auto, is upgrading a number of its stores across Australia to provide services for electric vehicles (EVs).
Mycar currently has eight sites around Australia which are billed as EV-ready, but plans to upgrade a further 22 by August this year, bringing the total of EV-ready locations to 30.
In addition to offering typical logbook servicing, these 30 sites will offer “mycar EV” service packages. Specific details surrounding these EV service packages are opaque for now. We don’t know pricing, term lengths, plus what is and isn’t covered.
The Kangan Institute is training and upskilling technicians so they can service EVs and provide support to EV owners, as part of the upgrade to make the 30 mycar service centres EV-ready.
To date there have been 35 technicians trained and upskilled by the Melbourne-based education institution.
In addition, all 276 mycar service centres are already able to assist EV owners with general requirements in areas such as tyres, window wipers and globes.
The company also says it’s “heavily investing” in its own EV network across Australia through “enhancing the store fit-outs” and adding more EV chargers at service centres.
“The EV market in Australia is growing and we want to ensure our customers have a trusted auto expert ready to deliver quality service regardless of the vehicle they own – electric, hybrid, petrol or diesel,” said mycar managing director Adam Pay.
The following is a list of all the 30 EV-ready service centres mycar plans to have upgraded by August 2022:
Australian Capital Territory
- Belconnen
- Fyshwick
New South Wales
- Brookvale
- Chatswood
- Hurstville
- Pagewood Eastgardens
- Parramatta
- Seven Hills
- Wollongong
Queensland
- Burleigh Heads
- Cairns
- Garden City
- Mt Ommaney
- Stafford
- Pimpama
South Australia
- Adelaide City
- Churchill Centre
- Reynella
Tasmania
- New Town
- Launceston
Victoria
- Doncaster
- Hartwell
- Reservoir
- South Melbourne
- Waverley Gardens
- Werribee
Western Australia
- Baldivis
- Booragoon
- East Perth
- Joondalup
This ramp-up of independent EV servicing and repairing is an important step in creating a competitive and fair playing field between OEM and third-party repairers.
When the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Motor Vehicle Services and Repair Information Sharing Scheme) Act 2021 commences on July 1, OEMs will be required to supply proprietary service and repair data to independent repairer businesses nationwide.
We’d point out that many brands already sell their data, but the legislation will mandate it.
As previously detailed, Australian BYD partner EVDirect.com plans to use mycar as an official service partner. This is in addition to a retail and service partnership with car dealer group Eagers Automotive.
BYD expects to commence deliveries of its first EV model, the Atto 3, in the Australian market from July 2022.
This isn’t the first time mycar has pivoted recently, having announced an agreement to do official service and warranty work for AusMV – the Queensland-based company that remanufactures Dodge, Ford and Ram vehicle locally.
Extracted from Sound Telegraph