Getting ready for EVs: Hannah Gordon

Upskilling so you can work on EVs when they roll into the workshop may not be your passion, but it could prepare you for success in the future as Hannah Gordon, owner of SPA Motor Company explains.

We can all see what’s coming down the road. The government’s decision to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles from 2030 and the increasingly stringent emissions regulations means cars are going electric.

It can seem like a long way off, especially when electrified vehicle numbers still remain relatively small, and you may not have even seen one turn up at your business yet. But it’s something we all need to ready for.

Hannah Gordon, owner of SPA Motor Company, and a passionate classic car restorer until recently was in that position. But looking further down the line she could see the benefit of increasing her skills, so her business was ready for the EV shift. She’s now gained both her IMI Level 2 Award in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Routine Maintenance Activities and IMI Level 3 in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Repair and Replacement. MotorPro caught up with her to find out more.

MotorPro: You originally weren’t interested in taking EV-related courses, why was that?

Hannah Gordon: It wasn't something I was particularly interested in. I come from a classic car background, so a lot of the stuff I do is pretty old, I'm used to fairly old technology where it's very hands-on and I've never really been into the electrified concepts. 

But since being a business owner I want to stay ahead of the times, I want the business to be current, and I want it to be a place where we are able to do and cover most vehicles.

Have you seen more electrified vehicles coming into the workshop?

We've had a fair few Teslas in, but the reason I looked at EV courses was partly because I thought about doing an EV project – to turn a front-wheel drive, front-engine internal combustion car into rear-wheel drive EV. So I initially spoke to the Centre where I studied about it and they said to come along and do the course, because it'll put you in a stronger position to complete the project.

How did you find the training; was it different to what you expected?

I was surprised by how many components there are. When you think of an electric vehicle you think batteries and motor, but when you get into the hybrid side of things it can be quite complex.

The safety aspect was quite eye opening, because of the voltages involved. So it's quite important that we have the right equipment and that we have the right training if we want to do electric vehicles.

I've worked on internal combustion engines for about 15 years, primarily classic cars, so you're not scared you're going to get electrocuted, but with a hybrid it’s very different. But then of course with hybrid cars you still have the normal suspension, brakes, so you still have a fairly normal car, it's just with the added voltage and the added motors.

Is EV training something that you think independents should consider doing more of?

Yes, I think they'll get left behind if they don't. And that was primarily the reason behind why I decided to do it and why I'll potentially get the other guys here to do it as well. As a petrol head it's not really my cup of tea, but for consumers they’re becoming more popular. We have to move with the times and realise that we need to start updating our knowledge and technical ability.

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