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Dealerships Add Technicians, Still Seek More, NADA Says

3 May 1999

Dealerships Add Technicians, Still Seek More, NADA Says

    WASHINGTON, April 30 -- Attracting service technicians
continued to be an important issue for franchised new-car and -truck dealers
in 1998, as dealers nationwide hired 900 additional technicians, but handled
approximately 1 million more repair orders than in 1997.
    New vehicle dealerships currently employ 256,100 service technicians, up
from 255,200 one year ago. The average dealership now operates 16.7 service
bays and employs 11.4 technicians. Last year, there were 15.7 service bays and
11.3 technicians per dealership.
    The increase in service bays allowed for the increase in repair orders
written. The total number of repair orders in 1998 rose to more than 9,800 per
dealership, up from 9,725 during the previous year.
    "Recruiting and training qualified technicians is critical to our ability
to continue to provide the higher quality service available," said NADA
Chairman James A. Willingham. "We must find new ways to bring the best and
brightest into this business."
    To encourage young people to pursue careers in automotive technology, NADA
has joined with General Motors, DaimlerChrysler and Toyota Motor Sales USA to
form Automotive Youth Education Systems (AYES).  AYES creates mentoring
partnerships between new vehicle dealerships and local high schools and
vocational education schools.
    NADA also produced and distributes What's the Deal on Dealerships?, a
16-minute video explaining the wide range of career opportunities at
dealerships, from the service department to sales to dealership management. To
preview What's the Deal on Dealerships? and for ordering information, visit
the consumer information section of NADA's Web site, http://www.nada.org.
    The National Automobile Dealers Association represents more than 19,500
franchised new-car and -truck dealers holding nearly 40,000 separate
franchises, domestic and imported.