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Craft and related trades workers · code 7231

Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers

The diagnostic computer finds the fault code. Getting the part out still takes a mechanic.

Diagnosing engine faults is mostly out of AI's reach. It barely touches seven of the eight tasks, including servicing, replacing and rebuilding engines.

What they actually do (and what else they get called)

Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers fit, install, maintain, service and repair engines and the mechanical and related equipment of passenger cars, delivery trucks, motorcycles and other motor vehicles. Tasks include - (a) detecting and diagnosing faults in engines and parts; (b) fitting, examining, testing and servicing motor vehicle and motorcycle engines; (c) replacing engine components or complete engines; (d) fitting, examining, adjusting, dismantling, rebuilding and replacing defective parts of motor vehicles; (e) installing or adjusting motors and brakes, and adjusting steering or other parts of motor vehicles; (f) installing, adjusting, servicing and replacing mechatronics components of motor vehicles; (g) performing scheduled maintenance services, such as oil changes, lubrications and engine tune-ups, to achieve smoother running of vehicles and ensure compliance with pollution regulations; (h) reassembling engines and parts after being repaired. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Automotive brakes systems service technician - Diesel fitter (road transport) - Engine fitter (motor vehicle) - Garage mechanic - Moped repairer - Motorcycle mechanic - Motorized rickshaw mechanic - Motor vehicle engine and fuel systems service technician - Motor vehicle mechanic - Motor vehicle mechatronics service technician - Motor vehicle repairer - Motor vehicle service technician - Small engine mechanic Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Bicycle repairer - 7234 - Automotive electrician - 7412 - Electrical mechanic - 7412 - Motor vehicle engine assembler - 8211

  • roadside vehicle technician
  • refurbishing technician
  • restoration technician
  • vehicle maintenance attendant
  • vehicle technician
  • automotive brake technician
  • diesel engine mechanic
  • tyre fitter
  • coachbuilder
  • vehicle maintenance supervisor

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

82 / 100

Strongly holds up against AI

Most of this job still needs an actual human. AI would mostly be making the tea.

Not the odds you keep your job. It's how much of the everyday work still needs a person, out of 100.

← Robot's turf Human's turf →

The ILO's official verdict: Not Exposed

112 of 427 for holding up against AI

Why this score?

The ILO rated each of this job's 8 tasks for how much of it AI could do. They average 17.8 out of 100, so it holds up at 100 − 17.8 = 82.2.

That's the whole sum. No black box, no secret sauce: you can check it against the ILO's study. ILO group “Not Exposed”: None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count.

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.8-observed-use

Pinch of salt: this number is probably too rosy

It only asks what AI software could do, and this job is 71 out of 100 hands-on. A chatbot can't do that part. A robot might, one day, and nobody measures how close that is.

Man v Bot · compare

Who holds up better?

Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers 82

v

Go on, try your partner's job. Or your sibling's. We won't tell.

Man v Bot

Where the bot helps, and where the human wins

Bot

What AI takes

The routine stuff. You may not miss it.

  • Fault diagnosis with software.
  • Service records and quotes.
  • Ordering parts.

Man

What people still do better

Judgement, trust and skilled hands. Hard to download.

  • Repairing and replacing parts.
  • Tracking down faults the computer misses.
  • Explaining the work to customers.

Both

What's arriving

New work that only exists because the AI does.

  • Electric and hybrid vehicle servicing.
  • Calibrating driver assistance cameras and sensors.
  • Software updates as part of a service.

Written by a human, from the ILO's task ratings below. Yes, we see the irony. Read it as one person's take.

Meet your two rivals

They're not the same machine. AI software can only reach the parts of a job done on a screen or in words. A chatbot can't climb a ladder. A robot might, one day, if it doesn't fall off.

The AI

Lives in a screen. Never had to fix a boiler.

Threat level: Low

20 could do without you

It could take over very little of the work on its own. It could help with 55 of 100.

The robot

The wildcard. Has hands, still working out stairs.

How much it matters here: Higher

71 how hands-on

Most of this job needs hands, a body or turning up. That's robot territory, and nobody measures how far robots have got well enough to give you a number. We won't make one up.

So could a robot do the physical part?

More fine handwork, and more time in cramped or awkward spots, than a typical hands-on job. That is exactly what machines find hardest: they do best in tidy, predictable places.

Robots hate fiddly work in awkward spaces. On that measure, this job scores 53 out of 100. The higher it is, the longer the robot waits.

71 How
hands-on
53 How fiddly
and cramped

Kind of hands-on work Hands-on, fiddly work in tight spaces

The small print

They aren't a robot score, and nothing on this page is. Nobody measures how far robots have got well enough to put a number on it. These are the closest thing we have: how hands-on the job is, and how much fiddly, cramped work it takes, which is what Frey and Osborne found hardest for machines.

From O*NET, averaged across 10 US jobs , so treat it as rough.

finger skill 49.1 · hand skill 46.3 · cramped spaces 64.3 · averaged · rule: hands-on 50+ · fiddly 39.4+

estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.8-observed-use measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

The job, task by task

Every job is really a bundle of tasks. Here's this one unpacked, with how much of each AI could do, out of 100. The score is the average, and averages can hide a lot.

AI's favourite task here scores 25, against an average of 18. The bigger the gap, the more lopsided the job: some of it wide open to AI, some of it barely touched.

  1. 25

    Detecting and diagnosing faults in engines and parts

    Low
  2. 20

    Fitting, examining, testing and servicing motor vehicle and motorcycle engines

    Very Low
  3. 18

    Installing or adjusting motors and brakes, and adjusting steering or other parts of motor vehicles

    Very Low
  4. 18

    Installing, adjusting, servicing and replacing mechatronics components of motor vehicles

    Very Low
  5. 17

    Fitting, examining, adjusting, dismantling, rebuilding and replacing defective parts of motor vehicles

    Very Low
  6. 16

    Performing scheduled maintenance services, such as oil changes, lubrications and engine tune-ups, to achieve smoother running of vehicles and ensure compliance with pollution regulations

    Very Low
  7. 15

    Replacing engine components or complete engines

    Very Low
  8. 13

    Reassembling engines and parts after being repaired.

    Very Low

8 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.8-observed-use

Sidekick or replacement?

A tool that makes you faster is a very different thing from one that does the task while you watch. Jobs and Skills Australia measured the two separately, which is handy.

AI helps you
55
AI does it for you
20

Sidekick wins, by 36 points.

How good a match is this?

2 Australian jobs match this one, and we've simply averaged them. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.8-observed-use matched to Australian jobs 3212, 8994

Meanwhile, in real life…

Everything else here is about what AI could do. This is what people actually did. When they asked Claude for help with this kind of work, did they hand the whole task over, or roll their sleeves up and work through it together?

Tiny sample alert This job makes up 0.05% of all the conversations: a tiny slice, mostly the paperwork rather than the work. People using AI for a job isn't the same as AI being able to do it.

Out of every 100 conversations

36
64

worked through it together handed it over

The small print

Anthropic publishes this about its own product, and it doesn't feed into any score here. These are people who use Claude, not workers in general, so little use here doesn't mean AI can't reach the job.

The data is sorted by US job, and this one matches 5 of them. We've combined them, counting each by how often it comes up in the conversations, so the busiest one counts most.

These two add up to 100. The bars elsewhere on the page don't, because each is scored on its own, so we don't put them side by side.

observed use Anthropic Economic Index release 2026-06-26, period beginning 2026-05-01 data 0.8-observed-use 2026-05-01 · Anthropic, about its own product

So, should car mechanics be worried?

Short answer: not really. Put the kettle on.

No. The most exposed task is diagnosing faults, rated Low; servicing, fitting and repairing rate Very Low. Diagnostics keep getting smarter, and electric cars change the work, but repairs are still done with hands and tools.

Worth remembering: we score tasks, not jobs. When AI takes on a task, the job usually reshuffles around it rather than vanishing.

Where this job could lead

None of the new jobs we've written up start from here yet. Could be you're the first. See the jobs AI is creating →

How are the neighbours doing?

There are 65 jobs in the “Craft and related trades workers” family, averaging 84. This one is below the family average.

Pit this against any other job →