'Deproduction' sounds like a mis-spelling in a biology lesson, but it's what one vehicle salvaging company has started doing in Poole, Dorset.
Think of it as car production in reverse. Mounted on wheeled carriers, end-of-life cars travel along steel tracks, pausing at a series of four work stations where technicians dismantle them, placing their components in large hoppers. These are then wheeled to another area, where they're checked, catalogued, cleaned and photographed prior to being sold to bodyshops, garages and the public.
It's vehicle salvaging with a difference. Rather than mindlessly eviscerating old motors with hydraulic cutters and dropping the disembowelled carcasses into a crusher for bailing, the recycling approach taken by Charles Trent Ltd is methodical and surgical. There's still an old shell to dispose of, but even this is crushed by a machine powered by solar energy captured on the roof of the firm's warehouse.
Charles Trent isn't alone in treating end-of-life vehicles this way. Other firms, such as ASM Auto Recycling of Thame in Oxfordshire, carefully strip, catalogue and sell parts too. The differences are Charles Trent's strictly timed deproduction lines (a car is stripped in 15 minutes) and, at the end of them, the packaging area, where the checked parts are boxed up.
The idea isn't new. France's Indra was among the first to develop and adopt the approach, many years ago. However, Charles Trent is the only salvage firm to have implemented it in the UK.
Esta historia es de la edición May 31, 2023 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 31, 2023 de Autocar UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
MG 4
An EV changes your driving style - but not to the detriment of pleasure
PEUGEOT E-208
Time with our French hatch is up. Is it good riddance or au revoir?
In the hot seat
Is the best automotive job in the world actually in miniature scale? Hot Wheels' design boss assures STEPHEN DOBIE it is
Correcting the record
Autocar invented the road test back in 1928 - or did we? KEITH JONES trawls the past to find the true starting point
Road test rebooted
As the Autocar road test forges into its second century, its brief is expanding and it's returning to a familiar place. MATT SAUNDERS explains
Cyber attack
MG is back on the international stage and now trying to return to its sports car roots. MATT SAUNDERS sees if the Cyberster EV can match up to a rival from the present and a relation from the past
KIA PICANTO
As rivals fall by the wayside, Kia's popular city car gets a makeover
MASERATI GRANTURISMO
Latest coupé in a long line of Maserati GT cars hits the UK with V6 power
PORSCHE CAYENNE GTS COUPE
New V8 model gets all the goodies
TOYOTA PRIUS
Back by popular demand with a cool new look and greater driver appeal