ARC360 News – Friday 18 July 2025 

Alton Cars has announced the retirement of Group Managing Director Julian Milner, along with significant investment in the business by Sun European Partners. Read more

Following a successful three-year relationship, Fix Auto UK and LKQ have entered a new agreement running from September 1 until May 2030, reinforcing their shared commitment to sustainable growth and excellence. Read more 

In response to the growing complexity of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) in modern commercial vehicles, the VBRA along with contributors have developed this dedicated ADAS Guidance to support repairers in maintaining system integrity and ensuring vehicles are returned to the road safely and correctly. Read more 

Ogilvie Fleet and FMG have optimised their decade-long partnership by integrating systems to deliver online accident reporting through Ogilvie’s award-winning Happy Drivers App. Read more 

HR Owen PLC has announced a new partnership with Steer Automotive Group, marking a significant step forward in the evolution of our aftersales operations.  Read more 

Fix Auto Swansea West has signed up to ARIES – the Accident Repair Industry Environmental Standard. 

Stevens Collisions Repair Specialists in Market Drayton has recently hosted two younsters for a week of work experience.  

US: When Matt Ebert speaks about his car-collision repair shop empire, he does so in a humble way, like his beginnings. The CEO of Crash Champions, which reported $2.75 billion in revenue last year, came from a small town in Illinois, where earning a college degree was neither a given nor an expectation.  Read more ​

Discount of up to £3,750 on electric cars set to slash costs for thousands  

Drivers across the UK will soon enjoy discounts on dozens of new electric car models after the Transport Secretary today (15 July 2025) announced a £650 million grant scheme worth up to £3,750 per car, putting more money back in working people’s pockets as part of the Plan for Change and making owning an electric car a reality for thousands.  Read more 

Allianz and Volkswagen Financial Services UK launch partnership 

Allianz UK has announced a significant new partnership with Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS UK), becoming the official motor insurance provider for customers across the Volkswagen Group’s UK passenger car brands – including Volkswagen, Audi, Škoda, SEAT, and CUPRA. Read more

Stellantis Discontinues Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology Development Program  

Stellantis today announced its decision to discontinue its hydrogen fuel cell technology development program. Due to limited availability of hydrogen refueling infrastructure, high capital requirements, and the need for stronger consumer purchasing incentives, the Company does not anticipate the adoption of hydrogen-powered light commercial vehicles before the end of the decade. Read more 

Jaguar Land Rover to cut up to 500 jobs  

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is to cut up to 500 management jobs, with experts blaming US trade tariffs for the move. Last week, the carmaker revealed a drop in sales in the three months to June caused partly by it pausing exports to the US because of tariffs and also due to the planned wind-down of older Jaguar models. Read more 

Lucid Adds Hands-Free Drive Assist and Hands-Free Lane Change Assist  

Lucid Group, Inc maker of the world’s most advanced electric vehicles, today announced a major update to its DreamDrive Pro suite of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to deliver Hands-Free Drive Assist and Hands-Free Lane Change Assist1 to its award-winning line-up of electric vehicles. Read more 

Baidu and Uber Join Forces to Accelerate Autonomous Vehicle Deployment  

Baidu, Inc and Uber Technologies, Inc today announced a multi-year strategic partnership to deploy thousands of Baidu’s Apollo Go autonomous vehicles (AVs) on the Uber platform across multiple global markets outside of the U.S. and mainland China. Read more 

Nissan Electrifies Supply Chain with Electric Truck Charging Station 

An electric truck charging station that will potentially save 1,500 tonnes of CO2 a year has gone live at Nissan Sunderland Plant. The project is a first in the UK automotive industry, establishing an electric, end-to-end supply chain that transports materials into the Nissan plant and delivers finished vehicles out. Read more

JLR and ev.energy plan to reduce charging costs and carbon for clients 

JLR is collaborating with smart EV charging software platform, ev.energy, to support efforts to make charging more sustainable and affordable for its clients. Read more

Volvo Cars reports Q2 2025 results, turnaround plan is fully on track 

Volvo Cars today reports a group operating profit (EBIT) of SEK -10.0 billion for the second quarter of 2025. The result reflects a continued challenging environment for the automotive industry, but the SEK 18 billion cost and cash turnaround plan is fully on track and the company is confident about more positive effects from the programme. Read more

ILC reveals new Motor Claims Advisory Board  

At our exclusive Partner Day last week, we announced the formation of our Motor Claims Advisory Board - a dynamic collective of senior industry professionals who will help shape the future direction of ILC’s motor claims initiatives.  Read more

Insurers convene to tackle skills crisis – AutoRaise proposes new alliance model  

AutoRaise recently brought together leading insurers for an exclusive meeting to discuss the sector’s critical skills shortage. Hosted as part of the charity’s strategic evolution, the session marked the first in a proposed series of events aimed at building a stronger, more transparent partnership between AutoRaise and the businesses whose funding drives its impact. Read more

How to deliver a new generation of combined total loss and repair solutions 

Here, in the first of a new series of features from ILC Digital Content Partner e2e Total Loss Claims Management, CEO Eddie Longworth explores how a more joined up approach and some applied Systems Thinking could prove a win-win for all stakeholders. Read more

South East leads as the top region for car insurance claims  

New figures revealing the UK’s top 10 regions for car insurance claims has been released by comparison site  Go.Compare. The latest Car Insurance claims report reveals that the South East accounts for the largest share of claims nationwide, making up 20.03% of all UK claims filed in the last five years. Read more 

Andy Bland’s blog: Declining vehicle maintenance raises concerns – is your grey fleet a hidden risk?   

Recent reports highlighting growing levels of delayed car maintenance could have risk implications for employees and organisations.  Read more 

Superb automotive talent heads into IMI 2025 Skills Competition 

Following National Qualifier events in May and June, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is delighted to announce the finalists in the IMI 2025 Skills Competitions. Following a record-breaking 600+ nominations, 24 of the most talented students and apprentices, each put forward by their tutor or employer in one of four key specialisms, Body Repair, Refinishing, Light Vehicle Technology, and Heavy Vehicle Technology, have earned their place in the finals.  Read more

EV Infrastructure Boost Risks Backfiring Without Skills Investment, Warns IMI  

As the government announces a £63 million investment fund in EV infrastructure, the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) is highlighting the urgent need for skills support for the automotive aftermarket. According to the latest data from the IMI, 2024 saw a 6% drop in technicians gaining an EV certification, despite the EV parc growing significantly through the year. Read more 

Craig Bundell has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Tesco Insurance and Money Services. Read more 

Gary Xuereb has been appointed as Managing Director for DMN Fleet Services while Maria McDonald (formerly Avery) has been promoted to Group Commercial Director.  

Kelly Watson has started a new role as Business Development Manager at FMG.  

Stephen Long, Claims IT & Operations Director at Covea Insurance has joined Andy’s Man Club as a Trustee. Read more 

Mario Dimovski has started a new position as Head of Plastic Repair Alliance Council at Plasnomic. 

Mark Edwards has joined the Everard Group as Business Development Manager. 

Morelli Group has appointed Nigel Calnan as Sales Director for Wales.