The Motor Ombudsman has polled 600 garages and found that around
[caption id="attachment_19004" align="alignright" width="300"] Bill Fennell, Managing Director of The Motor Ombudsman[/caption]
three quarters (73 percent) are expecting MOT volumes in March and September to be similar or fewer in number than the same period last year. Demand for the mandatory annual test is traditionally at its highest during these two months, mirroring the bi-annual plate changes for new cars.
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Whilst there was no clear consensus on the average mileage that the garages thought consumers would be completing , the most estimate was in the range of three to five thousand, meaning a steep drop from the annual average of 7,200 miles in 2019.
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DVSA data has forecast that 3.49 million MOTs are set to expire in March, equating to only 152,000 more than the same month in a ‘regular’ year. While this is an increase, and when spread across all MOT stations, it reflects the opinion stated by 39 percent of those polled that volumes will remain largely unchanged for the two typically busiest months for MOTs in 2021.
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Commenting on the findings of the study, Bill Fennell, Chief Ombudsman and Managing Director of The Motor Ombudsman, said: “The research offers an interesting insight from those businesses that are ‘on the ground’ conducting the MOT tests. It is encouraging to see that the majority estimate that MOT volumes will hold up during the peak months, but there is equally an element of concern that demand may also be lower than March and September last year. There will also undoubtedly be more challenging periods for businesses in between, such as in April and May, due to the knock-on effect of motorists using the government’s six-month MOT extension introduced in response to the pandemic.”
Bill added: “Even if consumers have done less mileage in the 12 months leading up to their MOT
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