Declining claims volumes, rising vehicle complexity and the need for closer collaboration across the repair chain have emerged as leading themes at the IBIS Global Summit 2026 in Vienna, Austria.
Speaking to global collision repair leaders, Rex Green of Jefferies LLC addressed concerns surrounding declining claims volumes, suggesting much of the recent downturn may be cyclical rather than structural.
While advanced safety technology is reducing accident frequency, Green noted that increasing repair complexity continues to drive higher-value repairs. He linked the recent claims decline to broader economic conditions and changing consumer behaviour, while noting that advanced safety technology is reducing accident frequency.
However, Green said lower accident frequency does not mean simpler economics for the collision sector. More complex vehicles are changing the work required after a collision and increasing the value of individual repairs.
“It takes more work to fix a car today,” Green said. “Cars are more expensive to repair, there’s more labour involved and significantly more calibration work.”
Green said the industry should prepare for a future in which repair complexity plays a larger role than repair volume.
Vehicle complexity was also central to a presentation by automotive analyst Steve Greenfield, who pointed to advanced electronics, advanced driver assistance systems, artificial intelligence and growing competition from Chinese automakers as forces reshaping the automotive market.
“The cars are dramatically more complex than they were even a few years ago,” Greenfield said.
That complexity is already visible across the collision sector, where repairs increasingly require scanning, calibration, documentation, research and process control. As vehicle systems become more connected, repair decisions increasingly affect safety systems, claims outcomes and customer confidence.
Greenfield also pointed to China’s growing role in vehicle manufacturing and electric vehicle production as a force likely to influence global vehicle design, pricing and repairability over the next decade.
While Green and Greenfield focused on the pressures facing the sector, Bart De Groof, vice-president, global refinish marketing at Axalta, focused on the industry response.
“Exclusivity is not the answer,” De Groof said. “One technology, as good as it is, is not going to solve the problems that we are facing.”
De Groof called for greater collaboration and integration across the collision repair ecosystem. His comments pointed to a need for more practical dialogue between repairers, insurers, OEMs, suppliers and technology providers.
The Vienna discussions framed claims volume, repair complexity, artificial intelligence, calibration, insurability and repairability as connected pressures that will require shared solutions.
For Canada’s collision sector, the themes are familiar. Shops are dealing with more complex repairs, higher documentation expectations, labour shortages, training demands and pressure to prove that procedures have been followed. Insurers are also watching claim costs closely.
The message from Vienna is that the industry is not simply facing fewer or more claims. It is facing a different repair environment.
As vehicles become more expensive, more connected and more software-driven, collision repair businesses will need to compete on process, training, documentation, efficiency and trust. Businesses best positioned for that shift will likely be those able to adapt while maintaining strong relationships across the repair chain.
The summit also continues a revised IBIS format introduced earlier in 2026, with a stronger focus on shorter sessions, moderated debate, roundtable discussion and direct engagement between delegates.
In an earlier interview with Collision Repair, IBIS conference director Robert Snook said the organization had “transitioned from being an event to an experience.”
“We want to be an environment to connect changemakers in the region,” Snook said.
Earlier this year, Snook described the revised format as a move away from passive presentation. In the IBIS USA preview, the format was described as part of a broader shift away from traditional keynote-heavy programming toward shorter, structured sessions and moderated debate.
IBIS Global Summit 2026 continues this week in Vienna. A full recap will appear in an upcoming issue of Collision Repair Magazine and its online newsletter.
