Training the Next Generation of VHU Operators

France’s VHU sector faces a growing skills challenge as REP reform, new EU ELV rules, illegal operators and electric vehicles reshape dismantling. Vincent Dauvel says professional training, stronger controls and practical operator-led knowledge will be essential to help licensed centres adapt, improve safety and remain competitive.

Vincent Dauvel of FACS Automotive discusses professional training for VHU operators. — Vincent Dauvel

Vincent Dauvel, owner of FACS Automotive, a Montpellier-based French firm specialising in training, consulting and business facilitation for the automotive industry, brings a practical, operator-led perspective to the future of end-of-life vehicle treatment. Drawing on years of experience running multiple VHU centres, Dauvel explains how ground-level knowledge shaped his view of leadership, regulation and skills development, and why he believes professional training will be essential as France’s REP framework, EU ELV rules, and the rise of electric vehicles reshape the dismantling sector.

From VHU Operations to Industry Training

Running several VHU centres taught me, first and foremost, to challenge preconceived ideas and the boxes people are often placed in when it comes to accessing leadership positions. In this industry, leadership is not built on a diploma alone but on on-the-ground experience.

From an operational perspective, having gone through absolutely every role gave me a 360-degree vision that I would never have gained through a traditional career path.

What ultimately led me to create FACS Automotive was, above all, the desire to pass on my experience. Over time, I realized that no concrete training actually existed in this field, despite the huge need for it.

Since I was not in a position to acquire a VHU centre myself, I decided to build a business focused on training for this profession, with the ambition that it could one day be taught in schools.

France’s REP Framework Begins to Take Shape

Since France launched its Extended Producer Responsibility (REP) framework for end-of-life vehicles in January 2024, the reform has started to move the sector in the right direction, particularly in terms of environmental protection and limiting the illegal VHU sector.

From my perspective, this reform is moving in the right direction for environmental protection and for limiting the illegal sector.

Today in France, however, its implementation is still quite slow; regulation is moving faster than reality on the ground, and things are only just starting to take shape, in my view.

What is really changing is the level of attention and effort manufacturers are devoting to the dismantling sector.

That said, I believe the real impact of the REP schemes and the AGEC law will take several more years to fully materialise.

New EU ELV Rules and the Future of Independent Operators

Having read the French and European draft laws very early, when they were first made public, I am convinced that the new EU ELV Regulation risks consolidating manufacturers’ role in the future dismantling industry. In my view, the legislation is clearly designed with manufacturers and eco-organisations in mind.

I do not have a particularly positive or negative opinion on this; however, in practice, it will obviously lead to a significant reduction in the number of small operators, in favor of larger groups.

The profession will become more industrialised and move away from its more artisanal roots, which are, in a way, part of its original identity.

That is simply the direction of history.

Tackling Illegal VHU Channels

The illegal VHU sector remains a serious problem in France, with estimates suggesting that hundreds of thousands of vehicles still bypass licensed treatment channels each year. From my experience working directly with VHU centres, the most effective levers are regulatory control and stronger action against online platforms.

There are several factors, but for me, the two most impactful are:

The regulatory lever, with more shutdowns of illegal sites and stronger controls on small scrap dealers who advertise their phone numbers on roadside signs.
Taking firm action against websites such as Le Bon Coin, which allow listings of vehicles and parts outside the regulatory framework, encouraging fraud by private individuals who believe they are allowed to sell vehicles and parts without proper documentation. As long as digital platforms remain unregulated, fraud will stay accessible to everyone.

There is indeed a general wait-and-see attitude on this issue, mainly due to a lack of education and awareness about end-of-life vehicles and what is legally permitted or not.

Insurance companies should play a greater role in this area, but, like their policyholders, they often lack a deep understanding of the sector, even as this understanding evolves quickly and in the right direction.

Closing the EV Skills Gap in Dismantling

As electric vehicles arrive at VHU centres in growing numbers, the skills and knowledge gap around battery handling, high-voltage systems, and the commercial valuation of EV components remains significant, and not only in France. Many issues were not fully anticipated, even though the sector is now moving to respond.

I believe that many things were not anticipated, and not only in France. Today, the majority of VHU centres are trained to make electric vehicles safe, and expert centres are being certified every month.

However, storage and processing indeed remain sensitive points and bottlenecks for the sector, as there are too few players to handle the growing number of batteries.

Having recently visited a battery treatment and repair facility in a plant near Paris, I can confirm that the expertise is there, and that some players have fully understood both the challenge and the potential. Because, yes, in a few years, hundreds of thousands of electric vehicles will arrive at VHU centres.

But just like with the digitalisation of reused parts more than ten years ago, some will take the turn at the right time, while others will not.