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Craft and related trades workers · code 7231

Motor vehicle mechanics and repairers

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

None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 112 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • 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.

82.2
Holds up
against AI Not Exposed

AI could take on 17.8 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 17.8 = 82.2

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

70.9
How hands-on
out of 100

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

53.2
How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 49.1 · hand skill 46.3 · cramped spaces 64.3 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on 50+ · fiddly 39.4+ Hands-on, fiddly work in tight spaces

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.

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 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement

This number is probably too high

This score only looks at AI tools like chatbots. It doesn't look at robots at all — and this job rates 70.9 out of 100 for how hands-on it is, which is exactly where robots come in.

Have a look at the tasks below and judge for yourself. The ILO scored them low because a chatbot can't do them. Whether a machine with hands could is a different question, and we can't answer it yet.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 25, while the average is 17.8. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  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. 17.8

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

    Very Low
  5. 17.3

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

    Very Low
  6. 16.1

    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. 13.3

    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 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

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

AI helps you
55
AI does it for you
19.5

Helping wins by 35.5 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 3212, 8994

Compared with similar jobs

There are 65 jobs in the “Craft and related trades workers” group, averaging 83.5. This one is below that.