WHILE many businesses had limited access to garages during Lockdown, Europcar, Pennings Accident Repair Centres and ACIS have been working together to trial Repair Pods at two key Europcar sites, Skyport and Purfleet.

Having repair facilities in situ at these two van supersites has helped minimise the impact of the recent lockdowns, and reduced vehicle downtime by a third, enabling customers to have their revenue generating vehicles back on the road more quickly.

As a result, this trial will become a permanent partnership, which will steadily be rolled out to other key Europcar sites into 2021.

As vehicles came to site, they were triaged – could they be repaired in the pod or was more extensive damage repair needed in a traditional bodyshop? Around 70% of vehicles were able to be repaired on site in the pods, meaning a quicker turnaround.

Ian Parry, Head of Fleet Motor Damage, Europcar Mobility Group said: “Trialing Repair Pods in two of our key locations has clearly demonstrated the many benefits of on-site repairs.

“The use of the pods has significantly reduced our vehicle downtime compared to traditional bodyshops, whilst maintaining fully compliant, high quality and cost effective repairs. We are delighted to now be working to embed repair pod solutions within our wider network. Further enhancing our repair proposition and customer experience.”

Matthew Penning, Managing Director of Pennings Accident Repair Centres added: “We’ve been able to demonstrate that by providing a dedicated, tailored solution in partnership with Europcar provides all parties with a massive win that cannot be replicated in traditional models.”

Damon Curtis, Business Development Director of ACIS, said: “This is only the start of the journey, as ongoing consistent service, comprehensive product supply and technical support are all key to ensuring the successful positioning and nationwide delivery of the new repair pod programme.”

Europcar’s next repair pod installation is scheduled for Sheffield, and additional strategically located sites in the near future to service local customers’ fleets.

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