Domestic automobile industry ‘refuses repairs due to lack of maintenance manpower’… When it comes to imported cars, people say ‘I don’t know’ because they lack skills.

A ‘medical crisis’ is taking place in the domestic automobile industry.

While the domestic automobile industry has reached the point of refusing repairs due to a lack of professional engineers, certain imported automobiles are adding to the inconvenience of customers due to a chronic lack of expertise.

Even official service centers refuse repairs and are unable to find the cause of the problem, so customers turn to communities and car clubs to find solutions on their own.

On the 27th, a complaint was made to Bobae Dream, an automobile community, that repairs were refused at Kia Motors’ business office (direct center).

Auto Q, Kia Motors’ official service brand, operates a nationwide service network consisting of 18 directly managed centers and over 800 service partners.

Mr. A is said to have recently suffered an accident that was 100% the fault of the other party.

Since the accident occurred about a year and a half after purchasing a new car, Mr. A wanted the car to be repaired at a business directly run by Kia Motors, but all of the branches in the southern Gyeonggi region sent him back, saying, “We do not have the manpower to repair it.”

In the end, Mr. A sent the car to a first-class service center in Suwon.

Automobile repair shops are classified into five categories based on repair scope, workshop area, and number of licensed personnel. Maintenance shops are divided into 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 3rd class motor vehicle maintenance shops. The 1st class is capable of comprehensive maintenance, the 2nd class is capable of small maintenance, and the 3rd class is capable of partial maintenance.

Currently, it has been revised in accordance with Article 12 of the Enforcement Rules of the Automobile Management Act and changed to △Comprehensive automobile maintenance business (Class 1) △Comprehensive automobile maintenance business (Class 2) △Specialized automobile maintenance business (Class 3) △Specialized motor vehicle maintenance business.

In other words, if you need to restore a car that has been dented or crushed in a traffic accident, you can visit a general or small repair shop, and to replace engine oil or consumables, you can go to a nearby repair shop.

In Mr. A’s case, it is inconvenient, but compared to repairing imported cars, it is very good.

Land Rover, a British luxury SUV (sports utility vehicle) brand, is receiving complaints from customers because even the official service center has not been able to determine the cause.

The vehicle in question is the Defender model.

When the vehicle’s air conditioner was running, hot air blew out from the front and rear seats.

Mr. B, who thought it was a simple air conditioner malfunction, brought the car to the center before the service period expired and waited for repairs.

But the problem wasn’t solved. The air conditioner in the front seat, which was working normally, did not work again.

Mr. B reported that the advisor accepted that there was a definite problem when he received the car.

Accordingly, Mr. B ordered the vehicle back in, and about two months passed again.

However, the engineer said, “I can’t find the cause. I received the reply, “I can’t fix it.”

Even at the official service center, repairs were impossible because they did not know the cause, but the service center suddenly returned the car to Mr. B, saying, “A difference of less than 14°C is considered normal.”

Mr. B pointed out, “I couldn’t use my car (due to an air conditioner malfunction) for almost three months,” and added, “They couldn’t find the cause, and now they’re taking the attitude that there’s no problem.”

At the same time, he said, “I feel the infamous Land Rover with my whole body,” and asked for opinions, saying, “If you can give me advice, I will gratefully take it into consideration.”

The automobile maintenance industry is also a representative industry experiencing a manpower shortage due to the economic recession and the image of the 3D industry. In particular, in the case of specialized special technologies such as sheet metal and painting, there is a serious shortage of manpower, and although it is difficult to find employment, it is said that more than 80% of people quit within just one year due to the reality.

This problem is more severe in small car centers (maintenance shops), but even the large automobile industry is experiencing a manpower shortage.

In particular, as the spread of electric vehicles has increased and the development of software, such as semi-autonomous driving, is rapidly increasing, the supply and demand of experts in this field has also been pointed out as a problem.

As in the past, it is difficult to keep up with these changes with maintenance technology that focuses on hardware for internal combustion engine vehicles, and the latest technology requires less manpower, so the industry’s worries are deepening day by day.

Reporter Lee Dong-jun [email protected]

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