Transtar assists AAMCO shops FOR A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION to CVTs
Over the next few years, the transmission industry will be shifting gears. Transtar is ready to help AAMCO dealers make a successful transition.
That was the main theme of a presentation by John Bethune, Transtar director of business development, during a presentation in July at the four-day National AAMCO Dealers Association (NADA) Convention in Washington, D.C. Bethune, who serves as Transtar’s liaison to AAMCO/NADA, discussed a large-scale industry shift toward continuously variable transmissions (CVTs) that will be coming soon. Representatives from 150 AAMCO shops from around the country enjoyed Bethune’s presentation.
Today, automatic transmissions make up roughly 86.4 percent of the 11.5 million units on the North American market, with CVTs accounting for just 7.5 percent, Bethune said. By 2016, though, Transtar projects that CVTs will more than double their market share, making up 15.3 percent of 12.9 million units.
With the number of CVTs on the market rapidly increasing, Bethune said this will create a huge opportunity for repair shops – but they’ll need to be prepared. Because the technology in CVTs is completely different from the automatic and manual transmissions AAMCO shops have worked on for years, techs will need to learn how to work with this new technology. Bethune outlined how Transtar is working with NADA to help AAMCO shops stay ahead of the curve and be ready to fix CVTs when they come in. He discussed the parts and tools Transtar currently offers AAMCO shops, what will be available in the near future and where shop owners can get them.
AAMCO shop owners, even those who have had little to no experience working on CVTs, were encouraged by what they took away from the Transtar presentation, Bethune said.
“The feedback we received was, ‘This is absolutely the way we need to go,’ ” Bethune said.
Other highlights from the NADA Convention:
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Class in session: Continuing education was a recurring theme at the convention. AAMCO announced it is launching AAMCO University, a program for AAMCO center owners and employees. The curriculum includes not only technical training, but also training for new franchisees and sales management training for center managers. Transtar, meanwhile, recently unveiled a learning management system for its own employees called SmartTeam. The program, which launched June 1, provides Transtar representatives with training systems, technical training, products, catalogs and marketing to better serve customers.
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Coming attractions: AAMCO regularly provides its shops with materials to use in co-op marketing efforts. At NADA, AAMCO debuted a new series of TV ads for shops. The ads will be available to shop owners soon.
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Winner, winner: Congratulations are in order for Baltimore AAMCO representative Ken Wood, who was the winner of a big-screen TV after attending Transtar’s presentation at the NADA Convention.
Want to help your employees prepare for the industry shift toward CVTs?
Call your local Transtar representative today.