ARC360 News – Friday 6 March 2026

ARC360 2026 set to unite the industry voices

ARC360 2026 is set to bring together the organisations actively shaping the future of the UK vehicle repair sector when it returns to the British Motor Museum, Gaydon on Thursday 21 May. Read more

Steer Automotive Group has announced two senior leadership changes as it continues to strengthen its commercial capability and deepen partnerships across the insurance and automotive sectors. Read more

Repairify Workshop has been awarded the BSI10125 Kitemark.

VBRA has launched its new commercial vehicle website. Read more

Following the recent completion of a major investment programme that quadrupled the size of Fix Auto Walsall its owners have now achieved BSI10125 certification for their new site Fix Auto Stourport which was acquired in January.

Henry Jones has joined Rapid Repair Network as Chief Technology Officer. Read more

Express Bodyworks has opened its sixth site – Express Bodywork Manchester. Read more

Smartxpress has announced the Appointment of Paul Kuczera as Bodyshop Manager at its Accident Repair Centre. Read more

Bodywyse Autocare (Kirkcaldy & Cupar) has successfully passed its latest VWG Paint & Body Audit.

CRS Rotherham HGV has officially opened its doors for business.

H&L Motors has been awarded the Volkswagen Group Quarter 4 2025 Balanced Scorecard Gold Award for Area 3 (South).

Motocolor ARC in Southampton Ltd has achieved a 100% clean score on its recent BS10125 audit.

Brian Robson Coachworks Hatfield has successfully achieved BS10125:2022 certification following a two-day Stage 2 audit.

Vizion has been included in the FT1000: Europe’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2026, for the sixth consecutive year. Produced by the Financial Times in partnership with Statista, the FT1000 recognises 1,000 of Europe’s fastest-growing businesses, assessed on revenue growth between 2021 and 2024. Read more

Ford’s Enhanced Puma Adds Range and Hands-Free Tech

Ford today announced significant enhancements to the Puma and the all-electric Puma Gen-E, delivering advanced technology, greater efficiency, and a more refined design for the popular compact crossovers. Read more

Volvo celebrates 70 years of the seatbelt saving lives

Volvo Car UK is celebrating 70 years of pioneering seatbelt technology this year with the debut of the world-first multi-adaptive seatbelt in the new EX60 model. Read more

Co-op expands its electric delivery fleet with Toyota

Co-op, one of the UK’s best-known and most-respected businesses, is expanding its electric home delivery fleet with Toyota with a £1.5 million investment supporting carbon reduction and net zero goals. More than 50 new Proace City compact vans are entering service as the company replaces and upgrades its vehicle fleet. Read more

Nissan X‑Trail: 25 Years and Over 8 Million Units Sold

For 25 years, the Nissan X‑Trail has been one of Nissan’s most successful global SUVs. Launched in 2001 and later introduced in the United States as the Rogue, the model has evolved from a rugged, practical SUV to an electrified, technologically advanced crossover — without losing its core DNA of robustness and versatility. Read more

Volvo Cars is expanding production to meet strong EX60 demand

Volvo Cars is increasing 2026 production volumes for its fully electric EX60 SUV, on the back of strong customer demand for the car in its home market of Sweden and other key markets such as Germany. Read more

Electrifying milestone: Volkswagen Group delivers four million all-electric vehicles

With the delivery of four million all-electric vehicles, the Volkswagen Group has reached another milestone in its successful electrification strategy. In 2025, the Group was one of the top five BEV manufacturers worldwide and was the clear BEV market leader in its home market of Europe with a market share of around 27 per cent. Read more

Thatcham Research launches EV Blueprint to tackle unnecessary write-offs

Thatcham Research has unveiled a comprehensive new Electric Vehicle (EV) Blueprint aimed at addressing the growing challenge of unnecessary EV write-offs driven by insurability and repair costs. Read more

AutoRaise launches Careers Resource Centre to inspire next generation

AutoRaise has launched a new online Careers Resource Centre, designed to help young people, schools and employers better understand and access careers in automotive repair. Read more

Glasurit announces exclusive paint partnership with Audi Motorsport for F1 debut in 2026

After years of meticulous preparation, Audi Revolut F1 Team has entered a new era in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, unveiling its partners and identity at a launch event in Berlin. Glasurit, premium refinish paint brand of BASF Coatings and a global leader in automotive refinish solutions, is proud to announce that it has become the exclusive and official paint supplier to Audi Revolut F1 Team for its historic debut in 2026. The exclusive Audi R26 coating is developed and painted with Glasurit’s 100 Line and meets the highest standards for eco-efficiency. Read more

Van insurance premiums continue downward trend, new index shows 

Van insurance premiums have continued to fall in early 2026, extending a sustained softening in the market that began in mid-2024, according to the latest Quarterly Van Insurance Price Index from Pearson Ham Group’s Market Pricing Business. Read more

Used electric cars flew off dealer forecourts in February as buyers chased lower prices

EVs accounted for the majority of the fastest-selling used cars in February, new data seen exclusively by Car Dealer shows. Latest figures from Motors & Cazoo show that over half of the top-10 fast-selling used cars on the marketplaces were pure-electric cars. Read more

FCA: Motor finance compensation scheme to include implementation period 

We’re considering over 1,000 responses to our proposals for a compensation scheme for motor finance customers who were treated unfairly. If we proceed with a scheme, we are likely to make several changes. If we do go ahead, we expect to publish final rules in late March. The timing of publication will be outside market hours and we’ll confirm the date in advance. Read more

Enterprise Mobility Earns 2026 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award for Fourth Consecutive Year 

Enterprise Mobility has earned the 2026 Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award (GEWA) for the fourth consecutive year, recognising the organisation’s sustained excellence in employee engagement. This distinction places Enterprise Mobility among a select group of organisations that demonstrate a measurable commitment to creating a thriving workplace culture. Read more

UK Paint Update – 3 March 2026 

Audatex can confirm that we will be updating the UK paint material tables effective 03rd March 2026. The impact of the detailed data supplied by the paint manufacturers is an indicative average increase of  5.4% on the calculated paint and materials. Read more

Competition watchdog clears BCA acquisition of Aston Barclay

The acquisition of Aston Barclay by British Car Auctions (BCA) has been approved by the UK’s competition watchdog following a detailed investigation. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed the deal would not significantly harm competition in the business-to-business used vehicle auction sector. Read more

Copart CEO Jane Pocock awarded ‘Industry Woman of the Year’ 

Jane Pocock, CEO of Copart UK & Ireland has won ‘Industry Woman of the Year’ at the 2026 Modern Claims Awards. With 35+ years of experience within the automotive industry under her belt, Jane leads the second most established market in Copart’s global business and is the only female CEO in our NASDAQ-listed company. Read more

ERS launches Private Client Ultimate for UHNW motor segment 

ERS, the UK’s largest specialist motor insurer, today announced the launch of its new Personal Lines proposition, Private Client Ultimate. Building on the strength of its existing Prestige motor offering, both Private Client propositions will be available to trade via UK brokers. Read more

Lily Anderson has been appointed as Account Coordinator at Auto Windscreens.

Cheniele McGarry has started a new role as Head of Transformation & Integration at LKQ SYNETIQ. 

Andrew Stuart has been named as Sales Director for new UK car market entrant Geely Auto.