If you’re thinking of training to be an auto mechanic, think again
With more and more people around the world buying EVs, and more brands committing to moving away from petrol and diesel engines sooner and sooner, it’s pretty clear that any sector related to the automotive industry faces big changes.
Estimates suggest that 32,000 of California’s 60,000 mechanics will lose their jobs as a result of legislation requiring new vehicles in the state to be all-electric or zero-emission by 2035, primarily due to the very low maintenance requirements of EVs. Some 25,000 of those mechanics are likely to find work in other industries.
Car salesmen and women however, face a less certain future: it seems that a growing number of brands will follow Tesla’s lead and opt for direct sales. Dealers’ substantial margins are increasingly being called into question, as are their chances of continuing to make money from routine and often unnecessary servicing.
In general, it is expected that many traditional mechanics will switch to carrying out all kinds of common operations on electric vehicles as well: wheel changes, interior and exterior cleaning, etc. On the other hand, traditional mechanics will continue to have work for some time in a relatively slow transition, given that the law, for the time being, means that the more than twenty-nine million petrol and…
