Latam Mobility, the leading community in the promotion of sustainable mobility in Latin America, held the “North America Mobility & Net Zero Summit” in Monterrey, which brought together the most important companies and leaders linked to energy, transportation, fuels and mobility, to show the progress and prospects of the industry in Mexico, the U.S. and the region.
The meeting, which had a participation of more than 400 attendees, 70 panelists, 25 partners and allies and the presence of 25 countries, featured the presentation “Challenges in the After-Sales Support of Electric Vehicles“, with the participation of Julio Hernandez, Charging Division Director, and Roberto Talavera, Electric Vehicle Director, both representatives of Foton Mexico, which is part of the holding LDR Solutions.
“There is a lot of talk about issues related to electric vehicles, such as chargers, infrastructure, financing, policies or regulations, but very little about support and after-sales. This is very important, because although the work is marketing, it must be sold in the right way,” began Roberto Talavera.
“In Mexico there is already an important variety of electric vehicles, but also vehicles already abandoned, because they did not have how to diagnose a failure, who would maintain the chargers, or their after-sales service. We have seen end users who are limited in their operations due to the lack of spare parts. That is where the importance of adequate support lies,” said Talavera.
Julio Hernandez explained that the company has a plant in Lagos de Moreno, with an investment of nine million dollars, and another one in Queretaro, with a very similar investment, to guarantee the supply of parts, not only for combustion vehicles, but also for electric mobility and transition technologies, such as natural gas and hydrogen.
In addition, LDR Solutions representatives explained that they have a solid after-sales service to serve the Mexican market. “Foton Mexico has a distribution network of 22 active distributors, and 12 additional distributors are being incorporated this year, which makes us one of the most solid support networks in the country”.
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Service as a Fundamental Axis
“On the subject of maintenance of any brand, whether electric vehicle, or combustion, there is a statistic that indicates that 49% of users return to agencies to service their vehicles, but only when the warranty is active. When the warranty ends, the percentage drops to 28%, which represents a great opportunity for after-sales, especially for electric vehicles, which require easier maintenance,” Hernandez explained.
The LDR Solutions representative indicated that electric vehicles have much fewer moving parts, compared to a combustion vehicle. “Between engine, transmission and other components, combustion vehicles have around 20,000 moving parts, while an electric vehicle has no more than 2,000 moving parts, so by reducing the number, maintenance is more economical, although this does not make it simpler,” he said.
On the other hand, Talavera pointed out the importance of specialized personnel when performing maintenance. “It is not the same to check a combustion and electric vehicle, which has very high amperages or voltages. To provide adequate after-sales service there must be training, so as not to put the person and the asset at risk, which also costs two or two point five times more.”
“What Foton seeks with very specific plans is to break that paradigm of the Asian vehicle that has no spare parts or correct service, and that we can guarantee that our customers have the spare parts at the time they need them from the hand of our entire distribution network,” explained Talavera.
Finally, Talavera pointed out that LDR Solutions is currently working on the circular strategy for batteries, which although they have a useful life of 10 to 15 years, they are carrying out a remanufacturing plan. “The warranty comes from us, as manufacturers, and we seek to give them a second useful life, as a storage center in the production of solar or wind energy, as we also advance in their recycling to avoid environmental impacts.”
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