A study commissioned by the Volkswagen Group and carried out by Thatcham Research says that the impact of ADAS systems means that accident damage severity is falling and most repairers will soon be cosmetic in nature. 

The study says that advanced driver assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking, are now having a major impact in the accident repair market. The study found that from 2015 to 2020, moderate damage crashes fell from 57% to 46% and severe damage from 18 to 15%. Meanwhile cosmetic repairs went from 25% to 39%.  

Thatcham experts say by 2025, just 10% of repairs will be classed a severe damage, moderate will be 33%, while cosmetic damage will be up to 57%. 

However, it is also worth pointing out that with the advent of ADAS on most vehicles, even cosmetic repairs have taken on new complexity with the majority of jobs requiring calibration. The number of accidents is also set to actually increase as the number of cars on the road continues to increase. This will mean that while the nature of repairs may change, bodyshop services will remain in very high demand for many years to come.