More than 2000 Members took part in this year’s survey and overall the results show workshop profits are up.

Many industries have not been so lucky but the response to coronavirus has created a few tailwinds for the automotive sector. People have clung to their cars like lifeboats – for everything from commuting to family getaways. More cars on the road, more often, means more cars need servicing, and that means more business for Members.

But not everyone has ridden out the pandemic profitably. State of the Nation found there are still plenty of places Members are leaving cash on the table, costing themselves potential profits, or taking unnecessary risks.

Identifying opportunities to help Members create more profitable and sustainable businesses is exactly why Capricorn embarked on this landmark State of the Nation project in the first place. We wanted to look under the bonnet of our industry, see what was working and what wasn’t, diagnose the problems, and provide a range of actionable solutions.

This year’s report identifies some major areas of focus. The shortage of qualified technicians is a major problem, not enough Members have a healthy work-life balance and too few of us are ready for the big technological changes coming down the pipeline. In short, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

But it was also great to see big improvements in many of the areas we identified in last year’s report – with more Members charging for diagnostics, tracking efficiency, marking up parts more profitably and getting their retirement and succession plans in order.

State of the Nation 2021 is a fascinating read. It’s full of great insights and useful advice to help every Member create a more profitable business. I hope you get as much out of it as I did.

David Fraser

Group CEO