By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Motor Dealers Association’s (BMDA) president yesterday said he “fully agrees” with a top insurer that auto repair shops are struggling to keep pace with technology advances.

Fred Albury told Tribune Business his Auto Mall business was investing $500,000 to develop a “state-of-the-art” body shop, repair and training facility on Wulff Road to address the concerns voiced by Patrick Ward, Bahamas First’s president and chief executive.

Mr Ward, a panellist on an AM Best-organised webinar on the state of the Caribbean insurance market, had warned that there was a significant gap between the latest technology being installed in vehicles and the ability of Bahamian mechanics and body shops to repair them to the standard sought by the insurance industry.

While agreeing with Mr Ward’s sentiments, Mr Albury said the issues described by the Bahamas First chief were “an international problem, not just a local problem”, as the auto repair industry globally struggled to keep pace with rapid technology advances.

The BMDA chief and Rick Lowe, the Association’s secretary, both told Tribune Business that the repair concerns voiced by Mr Ward would become reality if Bahamians imported high-technology cars that are not currently being sold to local dealers by their manufacturers.

In such cases, they explained that dealers’ mechanics and repair staff would be unable to fix such vehicles as they had not been trained to do so. However, once manufacturers sold such vehicles into The Bahamas’ market, staff would be tutored on how to repair them both online and at facilities abroad.

“I fully agree with him,” Mr Albury said of Mr Ward’s comments. “Technology is changing so quickly that it’s hard even in the US to keep up with all the changes. There’s a lot of hi-tech items being built on a lot of high-end vehicles.

“I agree with Mr Ward, but it’s not just a local problem. It’s an international problem. Technology is moving so fast that training can’t keep pace with what is coming in vehicles. We’re in a new industrial time-zone, and if you think the way you did five, ten, 15 years ago, you’re not going to keep pace. You’ve got to keep up with the technology and stay a step ahead as much as you can.

“Technology is changing so quickly, going from combustion engines to hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electrical vehicles. I’m having to bring in someone from outside to do training on electrics and plug-ins. The Government ought to be a little more open to bring in people for training.”

Mr Albury added that Auto Mall staff frequently travelled for training at the brands’ facilities in countries such as Panama and Jamaica, with some service personnel heading to the US today for several days’ training on equipment. He said: “I understand what Patrick is saying. Cars coming in from the ‘grey’ market in the US have an accident and you’re unable to repair them properly.

“Speaking for my group of companies, we’re trying to keep pace as much as we can. We’re making a $500,000 investment in putting up a body shop on Wulff Road, and state-of-the-art repair facility and training.

“When you look around the country there are repair shops, but also a lot of fly-by night operations out there, and I think the insurance companies would like to see a Toyota dealer repair a Toyota vehicle.”

Mr Albury, though, predicted that The Bahamas will likely “be 15 years behind” developed auto markets such as the US, Canada and Europe, but once the correct environment and infrastructure is in place the same hi-tech cars - with devices to maintain lane discipline and safe distances - will be sold into this market.

Mr Lowe, meanwhile, was more circumspect on Mr Ward’s concerns, arguing that the problems described by the insurer will only arise if Bahamians import new, hi-tech vehicles that are not sold to dealers in this market by their manufacturers.

“The local manufacturer’s representative might not have training for that vehicle,” he explained. “Because the manufacturers know what vehicle they’re selling to local retailers, they make training available for that vehicle through online universities or their training centres.

“The problem might arise when someone buys a vehicle the manufacturers do not supply to this country. That is not normally sold in this market, and training is not necessarily available. That’s the only thing he could mean.”

Mr Lowe said it was “incorrect” to suggest that mechanics were not being trained, and did not have the ability to be trained, as all manufacturer-supplied vehicles came with the necessary equipment and support.

He pointed to a $15,000 refrigerant recycler that his dealership, Nassau Motor Company (NMC), had to order to deal with the new type of Freon used in the air conditioning systems of vehicles it sold as just such an example.