The Diesel Market

Andrew Page has seen significant increases in its diesel business over the last year. This is thanks to continuous investment in its stock programmes, and has also been helped by the company's branch expansion programme.

Kai Zissler, Commercial Director of Andrew Page, said: "There have been some significant recent diesel product introductions this year, such as glow plugs with a built in combustion pressure sensor, which are driving sales. We are also seeing an increase in sales of unit and common rail injectors."

"There are also a number of vehicle manufacturer incentives in place at the moment, which will be likely to result in an increase in the number of new diesel registrations. New diesel car registrations in the company car sector stand at 77.5% of the total market this year. This and the executive sector are the areas that are growing the quickest. This all has a positive impact on business for us."

The diesel replacement parts market is worth in excess of £250 million, and is expected to grow in-line with the increase in diesel registrations.

"The market will increase as diesels are more fuel efficient than petrol vehicles and the infrastructure to support purely electric vehicles is not yet there," continued Kai. "However, due to the price differential at the pumps the increase will come from businesses rather than the average consumer motorist."

Andrew Page, which supplies a wide range of diesel products at its 61 UK branches, recommends that garages should invest in training and equipment to repair diesel vehicles.

"Diesels make up about 50% of the car parc - this is a large chunk of business to ignore. It's never too late for garages to start equipping themselves to take advantage of this. Through our Technical Division we are able to offer customers a complete workshop solution."

Kai also emphasised the importance of specialist training that workshops should be investing in.

"At Andrew Page we offer a comprehensive range of diesel training courses to the workshops, including EDC, Common rail and unit injector system diagnostics. These courses all aim to give technicians a full range of training so that they are equipped to deal with diesel repairs".

Andrew Page also offers the following specialist tools that will allow garages to deal with a range of complex, modern problems:

• Diesel fuel analyser - for assessing the level of bio-fuel or contamination in the diesel fuel
• Sealed rail diagnostic kit - used for testing diesel pumps and injectors on common rail systems whilst on the vehicle

• False actuator kit - to be used in conjunction with the sealed rail diagnostic kit which permits further investigation of suspected diesel pump failures.

Garages should also be aware of the potential problems of diesel particulate filters. "They are easy to fit, but are expensive items to replace and to stock," said Kai. "However, they are here to stay. We have launched an education programme in order to get this message across and to help garages extend their repair offer. This combined with an extensive stock holding close to the customer is designed to help customers navigate the minefield."

There is also the issue of common rail diesel injectors. "Common rail diesel injector's work on very fine tolerances, even the minutest contamination within the diesel fuel can block the injector nozzle as can general wear and tear. Electrical connections to common rail injectors must be checked and replaced or repaired as required - it's not always a faulty injector. Sometimes customers also fill up with the wrong fuel, which obviously leads to problems."

Kai also states that remanufactured units are growing in popularity.  "Remanufactured units have been around for years," said Kai, "but they are now growing in popularity due to the current financial climate and they also offer a competitive repair of an older vehicle.

"They are also as reliable as new units as remanufacturers use original parts and test to OE test patterns. Like anything there are good and bad remanufacturing companies; garages should research these units thoroughly and not always be swayed by price alone."

Finally, Kai senses a change in the market due to new NOx emissions legislation.

"To comply with September 2010 Euro 5 emission regulations, manufacturers had to reduce NOx production. This was achieved by improvements in direct injection engines and the fitting of diesel particulate filters. There will have to be further advances in the reduction of high combustion temperatures to reduce the amount of NOx produced by cars. These extra costs borne by the manufacturers might be passed onto the customer by the price of new diesel cars increasing.

"More education is needed in the workshops to make sure garages fully understand the diesel market. It has seen continuous growth over the last 10 years, and we don?t see this trend reversing in the future. Garages need diagnostics equipment and training to be able to carry out cost effective diesel repairs. We are helping our customers by offering both, together with an extensive range of spare parts in order to maximise their profits."

Looking for Diesel training courses? Click here to visit the Auto Education website

For all your diesel tools and equipment visit the Andrew Page technical website
www.ap-tech.co.uk