Inside the garage of the future

走进未来的汽车修理厂
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Servicing and repairing electric cars requires new skills

维修电动汽车需要新技能

Many workshops will be out of a job

许多修理厂将面临倒闭


As a string of high-performance cars thunder round the twists and turns of Hockenheimring f1 circuit, in south-west Germany, a stripped-down vehicle at an adjacent Porsche customer center offers a peek inside a speedy but far quieter way of getting round the track. Christian Brügger, a product engineer with Porsche, a sports-car maker that is part of the Volkswagen group, points to the edge of a large black box in the centre of the vehicle’s chassis. “This”, he says, “is where the knife goes in.”

在德国西南部，当一系列高性能汽车在蜿蜒的霍根海姆F1赛道上咆哮时，附近的“保时捷”客户中心有一辆简约型汽车，展现了一种既高速又安静得多的赛车方式。克里斯蒂安·布吕格尔是大众汽车集团旗下运动跑车制造商“保时捷”的一名产品工程师，他指向汽车底盘中央一个巨大的黑色箱体边缘说：“刀具从这个地方进去”。

The box is a 93kwh battery. The chassis belongs to a 260kph Taycan, Porsche’s first fully electric vehicle (ev). Cables, bright orange in warning, snake across it to a pair of motors and other electronic gubbins. As many a mechanic, professional and amateur, knows, fiddling with the 12v system of a typical internal-combustion engine (ice) can give you a nasty electrical jolt. But this battery delivers 800v. Though it is fitted with safety systems, that is enough for a knockout punch that could kill you.

该箱体是93千瓦时蓄电池，底盘来自时速260公里的Taycan，它是“保时捷”推出的第一款纯电动车。以亮橙色警示的电缆蜿蜒穿过箱体，连接至两个电动机和其他电子装置。许多专业和业余机修工都知道，摆弄典型内燃机上的12V供电系统有触电危险，而这块蓄电池的输出电压达800V。尽管它配备了安全装置，但足以把人击倒而丧命。

The knife Mr Brügger talks of is special. It has a blunt vibrating blade, like those used by doctors to remove plaster casts without damaging the patient. After some 160 bolts have been removed it can be slid under the edge of the battery’s cover to cut away the glue used to seal it tight. This reveals 33 modules containing the lithium-ion cells that constitute most ev batteries. With the cover off, a faulty module can be swapped for a new one.

布吕格尔先生说的是一种特殊的刀具。它配备一只振动的钝刀片，就像医生拆除管形石膏而不伤及患者所用的刀。在拆卸大约160个螺栓后，用刀从电池盖板的边缘滑入切开密封胶。打开电池盖板可见33个锂电池模块，大多数电动汽车的蓄电池都由锂电池构成。取下盖板后，可以将
故障模块替换成新模块。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处


The battery is the most costly component in an ev. It typically represents about 30% of the value of the car when new. At present, if something goes wrong with a battery it is usually replaced with a new one because dealers’ service centres do not have the ability to undertake internal repairs. As a replacement battery can cost $20,000 or so for some evs, that is an expensive proposition. If the car is fairly new and the battery still under its warranty (which usually lasts around eight years), the manufacturer picks up the tab. But as evs get older and fall in value, many owners may decide to scrap their cars prematurely, rather than fork out such sums.

蓄电池是电动汽车最昂贵的部件，一般约占新车价值的30%。目前如果蓄电池出现故障，通常更换成新的蓄电池，因为汽车经销商的维修中心无法对蓄电池内部进行维修。某些电动汽车更换蓄电池的费用约2万美元，所以这是个昂贵的建议。如果汽车比较新，蓄电池仍在保修期内（通常约8年），那么费用由制造商承担。但是，随着车龄增大和贬值，许多车主可能决定提前报废汽车，而不会花大钱换电池。

Some 45% of CO2 emissions involved in making an ev arise from producing the battery, so it makes sense to repair them and keep the vehicle on the road. Porsche reckons this can be done for about 20% of the cost of fitting a new battery. Most faults are caused by the failure of an individual module or cell. If fixed properly, the company reckons, they can provide many more years of service. Eventually, batteries will give up the ghost. When that happens carmakers aim to recycle them, in order to recover the valuable materials they contain and then use those to make new batteries.

制造电动汽车释放的二氧化碳约有45%来自生产蓄电池，所以维修蓄电池以使汽车正常行驶是有意义的。据“保时捷”估算，维修费用约为换新费用的20%。大多数故障是由于单个模块或锂电池故障导致的，该公司认为如果维修得当，蓄电池的使用寿命能延长许多年。最终蓄电池将报废，此时汽车制造商打算回收蓄电池内的高价值材料，利用它们制造新的蓄电池。

Reparable batteries are good news for ev owners, but for garages they mean investing in specialist equipment, and also training technicians to do the work. Some of this investment is necessary to carry out even routine work on evs. But as the skills required have more to do with electrical engineering, computing and software than wielding a spanner, there are other industries competing for this talent.

可维修的蓄电池对于电动车主来说是好消息，但对于汽车修理厂来说意味着投资专用设备，培训技工做这项工作。即使是对电动汽车开展常规作业，某些投资也是必要的。所需技能主要涉及电机工程、计算机、软件，而不是使用扳手，其他行业也在争抢此类人才。

A looming shortage of ev technicians is causing concern in many countries. On October 18th, for example, the Institute of the Motor Industry, which represents Britain’s motor trade, said some 90,000 new automotive technicians will be required to service and repair evs by 2030. As of last year, just 6.5% of Britain’s mechanics were qualified to do such work. Steve Nash, the institute’s boss, says that with the pace at which evs are being adopted accelerating, government support is needed to boost training programmes and avoid a big skills gap.

迫在眉睫的电动汽车技工短缺问题已引起许许多国家的担忧。例如10月18日，代表英国汽车行业的“汽车工业学会”表示，2030年将需要约9万名新的汽车技工来保养和维修电动汽车。截至去年，英国只有6.5%的机修工有资质从事这项工作。“汽车工业学会”会长史蒂夫·纳什表示，随着电动汽车的加快普及，政府有必要扶持培训项目，避免巨大的技能缺口。

The specialist equipment required, including high-voltage tools, computer diagnostics and safety gear, is expensive. Reportedly, Cadillac, part of General Motors, has told its American dealerships they will need to spend an average of $200,000 on tools and training if they want to stay with the marque as it becomes all-electric. Industry reports say some have thrown in the towel, but others see a chance to expand.

所需的专用设备都很昂贵，包括高压工具、电脑诊断仪、安全装置。据说通用汽车公司旗下的“凯迪拉克”曾告诉美国汽车经销商，如果想在汽车实现纯电动化后继续与这家知名品牌合作，他们将需要在工具和培训上平均支出20万美元。产业报告显示有些经销商已经放弃，但也有经销商看到了拓展业务的机会。

Many garages, especially small operators who look after older cars, may be reluctant to invest such sums. evs are unlikely to make them as much money as cars with ices. Having fewer moving parts to wear out, evs are more reliable and require less maintenance than ice vehicles. A typical ice drive-train (engine, gearbox and transmission) might contain 2,000 moving parts. An ev’s equivalent has 20.

许多汽车修理厂可能不愿意投资这笔钱，尤其是服务老式汽车的小修理厂。电动汽车让它们赚到的钱可能不如内燃机汽车多，由于电动汽车的易磨损运动部件较少，所以相比内燃机汽车更可靠，需要的维护更少。典型的内燃机传动系（发动机、齿轮箱、变速器）可能包含2000个运动部件，而电动汽车只有20个。

All this could have a big impact on garages’ revenues. McKinsey, a consultancy, thinks evs may reduce spending on spare parts at American dealerships by as much as 40%. With no oil to change or spark plugs to replace, income from routine servicing will also be lower. Porsche’s Taycan, for one, is reckoned to need 30% less maintenance than if it was an ice vehicle. And fewer items on the service sheet will require a trip to the dealership at all, as an increasing number of fixes are carried out with over-the-air software upxes.

这些都会极大影响汽车修理厂的收入。麦肯锡咨询公司认为，电动汽车可能使美国经销商的汽车配件收入减少40%。由于无需更换润滑油或火花塞，例行维护的收入也将减少。举例来说，保时捷的Taycan所需要的维护估计比内燃机汽车减少30%。服务清单上需要车主前往经销商的项目将会减少，因为通过OTA远程软件升级来完成的修复越来越多。

Repairing batteries should go some way to compensating for lower service revenues, says Peter Reck, an after-sales manager at Porsche. He says the company is introducing three qualification levels for technicians who work on evs. Those on the first level can carry out routine maintenance and those on the second can remove batteries, but only technicians trained at the highest level will be able to open them up for repair. In this way, the company thinks, some dealerships, staffed by members of this elite, can serve as regional battery-repair hubs for garages who have only level-one and -two technicians. Porsche also plans to provide a “flying doctor” service of mobile high-voltage technicians who can visit garages if needed.

维修蓄电池应该能在一定程度上弥补服务收入的减少，保时捷的售后经理彼得·雷克说道。他说该公司正在针对电动汽车技师推行三个资格等级，一级技师可完成常规维护，二级技师可拆卸电池，但只有经过培训的三级技师才能打开蓄电池进行维修。该公司认为通过这种办法，拥有这些精英员工的某些经销商可作为区域性蓄电池维修中心，为那些只有一二级技师的修理厂服务。保时捷还打算提供流动性高压电工的“飞行医生”服务，他们在必要时可前往修理厂。

As vehicle technologies advance, garages will face more changes. As is happening on some aircraft, the increasing number of sensors in vehicles will more closely monitor performance and automatically book them in for preventive maintenance before faults occur. Although fully autonomous vehicles are still some way off, the day may come when evs drive themselves to a service centre.

随着汽车技术的进步，修理厂将面临更多的变化。正如某些飞机一样，汽车将配备越来越多的传感器更加密切地监视性能，并在故障发生之前自动登记进行预防性维护。尽管全自动驾驶车辆尚未到来，但电动汽车自动驶向维修中心的那一天可能来临。

Cell-by date
Technological disruption like this does, though, provide an opportunity for new entrants. Elon Musk, after all, was an industry outsider when he set up Tesla, his (for now) Californian carmaker, which launched its first ev, the Roadster, in 2008. Already there are signs that companies from other areas are looking to enter the ev-servicing business.

这种技术颠覆确实为新进入者提供了机会。埃隆·马斯克创立他的（目前）加洲汽车制造商“特斯拉”时毕竟是个业外人士，该公司于2008年推出第一款电动汽车Roadster。有迹象表明，来自其他领域的企业正考虑涉足电动汽车维修行业。

After buying a Roadster, Pete Gruber started repairing them in 2013. His company, Gruber Motor, based in Phoenix, Arizona, has grown into an independent Tesla service centre. The firm has developed its own tools and test equipment to repair the individual components in the electronics and batteries of Tesla cars. This is possible, says Mr Gruber, because he has also had more than 30 years experience running a company that repairs high-voltage power systems in data centres, meaning the technology was familiar. But Mr Gruber, whose garage has its own r&d lab, has a warning: “This is not the sort of work the average mechanic can transition to.” Grease monkeys, beware. Your days are numbered.

皮特·格鲁伯尔买过一辆Roadster后，从2013年开始对它们进行维修。他创立的公司坐落在亚利桑那州凤凰城，现已成为独立的“特斯拉”维修中心。该公司已研发出自己的工具和检测设备，用来维修特斯拉汽车的电子设备和蓄电池内的独立部件。这是可行的，格鲁伯尔先生说道，因为他有30多年经营企业的经验，该公司维修数据中心的高压电力设备，意味着在技术有相似之处。但格鲁伯尔先生的修理厂有自己的研发实验室，他提出警告：“这不是一般的技工所能过渡的工作”。机修工当心，你们时日无多了。

原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处