If you’re a driver in Consett, it’s important to know that annual MOT tests are a legal requirement for vehicles over three years old. While taking your vehicle down to a testing centre may seem like a hassle, it’s crucial to ensure that your car is roadworthy and safe to drive.
In recent years, we’ve seen an increasing digitalization of the auto industry worldwide that has already led to significant changes in manufacturing processes, attitudes to emissions and the way that consumers access essential services for their vehicles – but what are the changes on the horizon for drivers in Consett?
Emissions tests will disappear – With the UK government pledging to go fully zero-emission by 2030-2035, more of us are set to drive electric and hybrid vehicles than ever over the next decade. In terms of MOT testing, this means that emissions tests will disappear from the agenda. This is likely to speed up the MOT testing process considerably, with more of a focus on simple battery testing and capacity checks.
Virtual MOTs will be standard – While it’s already become the norm to book an appointment with an MOT testing service online, it’s likely that soon, you may not even have to visit a testing centre at all to complete your annual MOT. Within the next decade, virtual MOT tests will be standard protocol, as more electric and hybrid vehicles become capable of performing full diagnostic checks and automatically sending detailed reports to the DVLA on your MOT deadline date each year.
Monitoring systems will be the focus of MOTs – Because the vehicles of the near future will rely more heavily on complex operating and monitoring systems than hardware, machinery and moving parts to function correctly, it’s highly likely the monitoring systems of your car will be the primary focus during your MOT tests over the next 10 years. In the MOT tests of the future, you’ll be more likely to fail if things like your engine malfunction indicator lights or tyre pressure monitoring system are not working correctly. An efficient monitoring system should be able to identify problems with the vehicle long before it’s time for your annual MOT test.
MOT tests won’t be annual – With the UK government proposing to update MOT testing in February 2023, it’s highly likely that we’ll see changes related to MOT frequency come into force within the next decade. Because technological advancements have already enabled vehicles to perform elements of ‘real-time’ self-testing (such as IoT tyres which send out alerts when deflated or damaged) and the use of predictive maintenance systems to anticipate performance issues.
