AGVS: Garage owners are in good shape

FUTURE 800 decision-makers from the Swiss automotive industry made this year's "Day of Swiss Garagists" of the Auto Gewerbe Verband Schweiz the highlight of the year. The trade is in good shape, but faces major challenges. The automotive industry is facing probably the most profound change in its history, he said. With an appeal for initiative and courage to tackle new things, [...]

Editorial - January 18, 2018

Garagistes — With an appeal for initiative and courage to tackle new things, AGVS Central President Urs Wernli opened the "Day of the Swiss Garagists".

The automotive industry is facing what is probably the most profound change in its history. AGVS Central President Urs Wernli opened the 2018 Swiss Garageists' Day in Bern with an appeal for initiative and the courage to tackle new things: "In the future, garage owners will have to take a more active role. The coexistence of diverse technologies creates new entrepreneurial opportunities to specialize and provide independent services."

Direct line to the customer is the trump card

The largest symposium of the Swiss automotive industry dealt with the changes that digitalization will bring to garage owners, but also with values that will endure. Urs Wernli: "Competence, willingness to serve and proximity to the customer. More than 6 million motor vehicles are on Swiss roads. Here, the garage owner must maintain and sharpen his position as the motorist's confidant:"

A direct line to the customer is the automotive professional's trump card."

Swiss industry is in robust shape

Swiss garages sold exactly 314,028 new passenger cars in 2017, putting the number of new registrations above 300,000 for the seventh year in a row. Forecasts for the next few years are also beyond this mark. The Swiss auto industry is in robust shape. However, this should not hide the fact that the situation is tense: pressure on margins is high, as is the need to invest and the dependence on manufacturers and importers.

Garage Moderne is AutoEnergieCheck winner

Also honored on this day were those garage businesses that had completed the most AutoEnergyChecks (AEC) in 2017. This environmentally and customer-friendly service from the AGVS has saved over 40,000 tons of CO2 since its introduction. This year's winner of the annual competition was Garage Moderne SA from Bulle.