ARC360 News – Friday 12 June 2026

ILC ARTICLE

12th June 2026

SpireDrive joins ARC360 as Corporate Partner

ARC360 has welcomed SpireDrive as its latest Corporate Partner, further strengthening the growing community of organisations committed to supporting collaboration, innovation and best practice across the vehicle repair and claims sectors. Read more

ARC360: costs, staff and supply dominate sector concerns

Rising costs, staff and supply chain disruption continue to shape decision-making across the vehicle repair and claims sectors, according to audience polling conducted at ARC360 2026. Delegates highlighted financial pressures as a defining challenge while balancing growth ambitions, customer outcomes and operational resilience. Read more

As BYD’s UK vehicle parc grows at a pace never seen before, the manufacturer is taking an innovative approach to aftersales support in partnership with Vizion Group – building repair capacity, technical capability and digital infrastructure before demand reaches critical mass. Read more

Nova Automotive Group has officially opened its new Harlow site whilst announcing its eighth site – Nova Norwich – will be opening soon.

Finesse ARC has added AION to its list of vehicle manufacturer approvals.

Auxillis is preparing for its upcoming July rebrand as Northgate Insurance Services. Read more

Fast Lane Car Care in Uxbridge has won the inaugural Acorn Great Service Award for the service it provided a taxi driver following their first ever claim.

Liam Kenny Motor Body Repairs has successfully passed its latest BSI Kitemark 10125 audit with a 100% pass rate.

Onyx Repair Innovations, in partnership with fellow Activate Group companies Activate Accident Repair and FleetScout, have recently completed the installation of next-generation Automated Vehicle Inspection systems at key bodyshop locations. Read more

Introducing Waymo’s new reference model for human collision avoidance

Nature Communications has published its joint research with Waymo and TU Delft, advancing a breakthrough active inference framework to model human crash-avoidance behavior. This work marks a significant leap in enhanced capabilities and increased realism for our established methodology, providing a careful, competent human driver benchmark for collision avoidance. Read more

BMW Motorway Assistant: Over 200 million kilometres driven hands-free by customers

BMW customers have covered more than 200 million kilometres hands free with the BMW Motorway Assistant. The function is used daily by customers in several model ranges, including the 5 Series and 7 Series, iX, X5, X6, X7 and XM, as well as the new BMW iX3. Read more

Ready in 5, Full in 9, Cold Add 3: FLASH Charging makes its UK debut

BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of New Energy Vehicles (fully electric and plug-in hybrid), presented its game-changing FLASH Charging technology at its UK HQ in Uxbridge – the first demonstration of the technology in the UK. Read more

Renault 5 E-Tech crowned Autotrader Drivers’ Choice New Car of the Year 2026

The Renault 5 E-Tech has been crowned Autotrader’s New Car of the Year 2026 according to a consumer vote featuring the real-world opinions of more than 160,000 car owners at the ninth annual Autotrader Drivers’ Choice Awards. Read more

Mazda launches digital subscription-based insurance services

Mazda has appointed Wrisk to provide subscription-based insurance services for customers buying new and used cars. Available now on the Mazda website, the service provides customers with a fully comprehensive monthly subscription policy. Read more

AION opens first eight dealerships as brand eyes network growth

AION has opened the first wave of its UK dealerships as the Chinese electric vehicle brand prepares to accelerate its network expansion. The brand’s first customer-facing sites are now operating across eight locations, with AION targeting 15 dealerships by the end of June and 30 by the end of 2026. Read more

Driven to destruction: A quarter of pothole claims are write-offs

Aviva is urging motorists to take caution when driving over potholes, as new data by the insurer reveals that a quarter (25%) of claims for pothole damage involve vehicles that are written off. Read more

Ageas UK joins forces with Wrisk to deliver embedded motor insurance

Ageas UK has entered a new strategic partnership with leading Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) insurtech, Wrisk, by joining its motor insurance panel. Read more

Ghost plates and cloned number plates: how criminals hide stolen vehicles

The vehicle registration plate is one of the most important tools available to law enforcement. It helps identify stolen vehicles, link offenders to crime and supports investigations across local, regional and national policing operations. Read more

BASF hosts insurer paint workshop

BASF Coatings UK recently welcomed the engineering team from 1st Central Insurance to its latest Technical Paint Awareness Workshop, designed to explore evolving repair technologies and sustainable refinishing processes within the accident repair sector. Read more

Repairify develops diagnostic talent

Repairify has highlighted the role of specialist apprenticeships in addressing the growing skills challenges facing the automotive aftermarket, as vehicle technology continues to evolve at pace. Read more

Ben and IMI team up for webinar

On Monday 15 June, during Men’s Health Week and Loneliness Awareness Week, Ben CEO, Rachel Clift, will take part in a webinar – in association with the IMI – exploring the health and wellbeing challenges facing men across our industry. Read more

Motor insurance premiums set to rise as insurers face new cost pressures

With profits close to £2 billion in 2025, the motor insurance market enjoyed a year of over-performance – as cut-rate premiums were offset by a decline in major claims. The road ahead may be bumpier, though, with researchers expecting profits to fall to just over £1.3 billion in 2026, with rising claims and changing expenses hitting the sector. Read more