BYD UK is rolling out a connected workshop solution across its retailer network following a successful multi-month trial with Autotech Connect which demonstrated significant time savings in technical information searches, reporting and remote technical support.
During the trial, manual searches for technical information which would previously take 20–30 minutes were reduced to seconds or minutes, while AI-supported reporting was reduced to just five minutes per report. Remote support also enabled some repairs to be completed hours or even days faster by connecting technicians directly with specialist expertise without waiting for in-person support.
The solution combines RealWear hands-free headsets, Wideum remote support technology and FieldPal.ai’s AI-assisted reporting and knowledge lookup platform, technologies which form part of Autotech Connect’s wider connected workshop offering.
Following several months of development and live dealership trials, Autotech Connect showcased the technology to BYD retailers around the country in September, giving dealership teams the opportunity to experience it first-hand. The solution is now being rolled out across BYD’s UK network.
For Maurizio Pisano, Head of Aftersales for BYD UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, the project forms part of a wider focus on ensuring BYD’s aftersales infrastructure continues to evolve alongside the rapid growth of the brand: “Our growth has been phenomenal, but everything we do has the customer at the forefront,” comments Maurizio. “Customer care is extremely important to us and, in partnership with Autotech Connect, we wanted to design a state-of-the-art technical solution that would support that journey by reducing vehicle downtime and helping our retailers diagnose and repair vehicles quickly.”
BYD’s retailer network has played a central role in shaping the project, with feedback from the BYD Steering Group and pilot sites helping to inform the development of the solution.
“We investigated the market because we wanted a partner who shared our vision and had the capability to help us develop what we were looking to achieve,” continues Maurizio. “Autotech Connect was the right fit because of the team’s experience, their understanding of aftersales and their knowledge of the automotive industry. That has enabled us to develop something specifically around BYD and the needs of our network.”
Developed around the workshop
Rather than starting with a predetermined solution, Autotech Connect worked with BYD and participating retailers to identify where technicians and aftersales teams were losing time and where technology could make a practical difference. The technologies were tested in live workshop operations, with technicians and management teams providing regular feedback throughout the trial.
At Glyn Hopkin BYD, Service Manager Richard Slimming says the project began around six months ago with a “complete blank sheet of paper” and a simple question from Autotech Connect: how can we save you time?
Warranty administration quickly emerged as one opportunity. The process evolved into a structured digital warranty submission bringing the required information and supporting photographs into one document, with mandatory fields helping to prevent incomplete submissions.
“The document completion is saving us time as well as reducing the backwards and forwards with warranty,” explains Richard. “The system is set up so it won’t let you complete the write-up if it isn’t complete – you can’t skip the mandatory fields or photographs.”
Feedback from the wider retailer network has reinforced the importance of this. One aftersales team highlighted the challenge of ensuring technicians capture all the information required to support a warranty claim, and the financial implications when a claim is subsequently rejected. Having the process structured in one place, they said, should give both teams and individuals greater confidence that the required evidence has been captured before a claim is submitted.
For Russell Clark, Master Technician at Glyn Hopkin BYD, another major benefit is reducing the time technicians spend searching for information. “The data lookup capability that the AI solution offers is fantastic,” he says. “Instead of spending half an hour looking for a technical bulletin, you can ask the solution if there is a bulletin relating to a particular subject and it will find it for you.”
In one example, Russell spent around 20 minutes locating the instructions needed to remove a door panel – compared with just five minutes to physically remove it. With the AI-supported knowledge platform, the relevant procedure can instead be surfaced directly from the available technical documentation.
Taking expertise to the technician
The project has also explored how technology can make specialist technical expertise more accessible across the retailer network. Using hands-free headsets and remote support technology, technicians can connect directly with an expert who sees what they see, allowing guidance and visual information to be exchanged in real time without either person travelling between sites.
The trial found that removing delays associated with in-person support could enable some repairs to be completed hours or days faster.
At Glyn Hopkin, the potential extends beyond accessing BYD’s central technical support. Experienced technicians could also remotely assist colleagues at other sites, rather than trying to diagnose a problem over the telephone, travelling between dealerships or transferring a vehicle into another busy workshop.
This is something Russell experienced first-hand during the trial, using the headset to connect remotely with BYD. “The headset worked really well,” he explains. “They could send me instructions, ask me to zoom in on things and take photos. I believe it will help speed up fixing cars remotely because, instead of having to travel around the country, you have the capability to support more vehicles.”
Automotive expertise behind the technology
The BYD project reflects the wider approach Autotech Connect has developed since the brand launched three years ago: combining automotive expertise with specialist hardware and software to address practical challenges facing the aftermarket.
Autotech Connect works with technology providers including RealWear, Wideum and FieldPal.ai as part of its wider offering, applying its automotive understanding to determine where technology can make a meaningful difference to workshop operations.
“We’ve spent the last three years looking at where technology can make a meaningful difference to automotive businesses and working closely with specialist hardware and software providers to turn that technology into practical solutions,” explains Darren Dowling, Client Services Director at Autotech Connect.
“What we bring is the automotive understanding. We know the pressures workshops and aftersales teams are operating under, while our technology partners bring specialist expertise in their respective fields. It means we can bring the two together and, importantly, test and refine solutions in real automotive environments before they are deployed more widely.
“For us, it has never been about introducing technology simply because it is available. It has to solve a genuine problem, work for the people using it every day and demonstrate a tangible benefit. That is why the trial and feedback process is so important. With BYD, Maurizio and his team had a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve, while its retailer network gave us invaluable insight into the day-to-day requirements. The results of the trial demonstrate what can be achieved when you combine that automotive knowledge with the right technology and develop it around the people who are actually going to use it.”
Technician response has also strengthened as the trial has progressed. While some were initially sceptical, Maurizio says the reaction became increasingly positive once they experienced the technology first-hand, with some describing it as a “game changer”.
And, for Maurizio, the rollout is the next stage rather than the conclusion. “We’ve got some really exciting plans to take this further,” he concludes. “This is just the start of a really good project, and it’s only going to get bigger.”
