The SEMA Show opened Tuesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center with more than 2,200 brands, including more than 400 first-time exhibitors, and attendees from 140 countries, according to SEMA. The Collision Industry Conference (CIC) held its annual Las Vegas meeting the same day, among the events of SEMA week. CIC committees took on AI in claims decisions, unclear repair information, and the rise of customer-pay work, while exhibitors used opening day to launch new ADAS, AI, and repair tools.
CIC: customer-pay work grows as committees take on AI and repair information
CIC's quarterly meeting returned to Las Vegas on Tuesday, as it does each year during SEMA week, for a full day of panel discussions and presentations on key industry topics.
The CIC Governmental Committee discussed how AI is being used in collision claims and repair decisions, focusing on making sure a qualified person can review decisions that affect payment or vehicle safety.
The Estimating and Repair Planning Committee noted that "grey areas" in repair manuals or estimating systems can stall production. The committee discussed how to craft and submit clear, complete technical inquiries to automakers or the estimating databases, including what information to include and how to frame questions for quick resolution. Its presentation slides, which will be available next week on the CIC website, include a chart showing how a collision repairer can submit questions about finding or using procedure information for each vehicle manufacturer.
Aaron Schulenburg of SCRS sat down for an on-stage interview with Kristin Dziczek of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on the forces that shaped the automotive economy in 2026 and what they may signal for 2027, including vehicle affordability, emerging technologies, global competition, and trade policy. Dziczek said the indicators she'll be watching in the coming months include renegotiation of the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, new vehicle pricing, loan delinquencies, the change in the consumer price index for insurance and vehicle repair, and consumer confidence.
Another committee focused on the opportunity in customer-pay work. Lauren Kolak of CCC Intelligent Solutions said customer-pay jobs average about $1,900, a figure that has held fairly steady for several years, but such jobs now account for about 26% of jobs, up from about 15% for most of the prior decade.
Representatives of two collision repair businesses said they have seen their customer-pay work grow, with average repair orders even higher than CCC's reported average. John Reeves of B Street Automotive, which operates 16 shops in the Midwest, said capturing that work often comes down to consumer education.
"We'll explain, 'If you filed this claim and your premium goes up, and people tell us it can go up as much as 45%, and you're paying $2,000 a year for insurance, you're going to add $900 a year,'" Reeves said. "'You'll probably be surcharged for three years, so there's $2,700 that you're going to get nailed in your premium over the course of three years, potentially. Why wouldn't you pay out of [pocket] $3,000 when it [filing a claim] might cost you $2,700 for insurance?'"
Dan Risley of CCC concluded his final meeting as CIC chairman after two years. Incoming 2027 chairman Trent Tinsley of Entegral said next year's meetings will emphasize the topics that most affect shops, even if they are "tough topics."
"One of the things that makes CIC valuable is its ability to bring together people with different viewpoints," Tinsley said. "We can be respectful, professional, and collaborative, but we shouldn't shy away from talking about the real-world challenges our repairers, and the customers, are facing every day."
The next CIC meeting is Jan. 20 in Palm Springs, Calif.
Celette, ADAS Depot win SEMA New Product Awards
SEMA named its 2026 New Product Award winners Tuesday from more than 1,300 products entered in the New Products Showcase (Lower South Hall, #41271). Collision-related honorees included:
- Collision Repair & Refinish: Celette WebTools won; Bossauto Innova's Ionizer Pro and Innovative Tools & Technologies' Innovative Truck Cab Protectors were runners-up.
- Tools & Equipment: ADAS Depot's CarCal QuickCal 5.0 full system and targets won.
- Emerging Technology: NAPA's XcceleratoR XR Training Goggles won; OEC's EstimateIQ + BOT was a runner-up.
- Tire & Related: Bartec TPMS's Sens-Rite won.
AirPro + Revv launches four ADAS products at its first SEMA as one company
AirPro + Revv used its first public appearance since AirPro and Revv merged to launch four products that tie together identifying required ADAS calibrations, diagnostics, and documenting the repair. The company says it processes more than 1 million vehicles a year.
- Identify checks OEM requirements against the estimate and the vehicle's scan to pin down the calibrations the automaker requires, asks follow-up questions about details scans and estimates miss, and records the reason for each calibration to support reimbursement.
- Wheel & Tire shows which calibrations tire and alignment jobs trigger before work begins, so shops can show customers the OEM documentation and book the work.
- Side-by-Side Chrome Extension displays AirPro's ORION diagnostic scans beside Revv's work orders and calibration reports, so technicians don't have to switch systems.
- Auggie Air mounts on the windshield and uses digital targets to calibrate front-facing cameras, which the company says takes five to 10 minutes and needs no physical targets or dedicated calibration space. It works indoors or outdoors and folds down to roughly briefcase size.
"AirPro and Revv merged to create a seamless, end-to-end platform," said Driaan du Toit, CEO of AirPro + Revv.
The products are in the New Products Showcase, and the company is at booths #30215 and #32221.
AirPro + Revv was also the presenting partner of The Future Fix AI Room, a closed-room session for collision repair leaders that Autobody News hosted Tuesday morning at Resorts World Las Vegas during SEMA week. A panel looked at what it takes for operators to build or buy AI and prove the return, followed by a Q&A.
Partly launches PartlyRepair AI for collision shops
Partly, an Austin-based AI company, launched PartlyRepair AI, an AI assistant that handles research and admin tasks throughout a repair, starting at intake and running through parts ordering and closing out the job. It runs on Interpreter, Partly's own AI model, which answers parts and repair questions for more than 1 million vehicle configurations using licensed OEM build sheets and other data.
Six of its specialized agents are live now, the company said, including ones that check estimates against OEM procedures and flag operations and parts that may be wrong or missing, compare parts options across suppliers on price, speed, and quality, and reconcile invoices and follow up on credits owed at job close.
"General-purpose AI can read an estimate. But understanding what a specific vehicle actually needs to be repaired is a different problem," said Levi Fawcett, CEO of Partly.
U.S. collision shops can use PartlyRepair AI now without any integrations, with pricing per shop based on how many repair orders it completes each month. Partly is at booth #31255 in the Collision Repair and Refinish section of South Hall, Upper Level.
From the floor
Pro Spot debuts a cordless dent puller Pro Spot President Ron Olsson is demonstrating the ION HAMMER PRO-101, a cordless dent puller that runs on a rechargeable lithium battery, on stage at SEMA. Through Nov. 6, Pro Spot is also offering a $500 rebate on either of two dent repair stations when bought with its LTS-Complete Lateral Tension System. Booth #32049.
Dynabrade launches the DB15 polisher Dynabrade launched the DB15 Random Orbital Polisher, part of its Renny Doyle Series and the newest addition to its detailing and paint correction lineup. It has a 1,000-watt motor, 11 speeds, and a 15 mm orbit. Booth #38049.
ALLDATA demos Diagnostic Intelligence ALLDATA is demonstrating a new product, Diagnostic Intelligence, at its booths, including #31061.
Innovative Tools debuts a one-technician truck bed system Innovative Tools & Technologies debuted its Truck Bed Repair System, which pairs a new Truck Bed Lift with its Truck Bed Dolly so one technician can take off, repair, and put back a truck bed. Booth #33101.
Mitchell demos Intelligent Estimating Mitchell is demonstrating Mitchell Intelligent Estimating, which uses vehicle-damage photos to produce a first-pass estimate within minutes, at booth #35171.
I-CAR runs welding demos and on-site course registration I-CAR is running live welding demonstrations at booth #33139, and attendees can register on-site for remaining course seats outside rooms S224 and S225.
OEC shows its new AI Repair Assistant OEC is showing RepairLogic and its new AI Repair Assistant alongside EstimateIQ and the OEC Collision Repair Network. The company also made its RepairLink and PartsTech integration generally available, so shops can buy OE parts from nearly 9,000 dealers along with aftermarket parts and tires in a single cart. Booth #33193.
Spanesi's Collision Course names its first winner Spanesi named the first winner of its Collision Course Tuesday. Finishing the course at booth #31173 earns an entry to win a Touch V6 Portable and other prizes.
Coming up Wednesday
Wednesday brings the second day of SCRS's Repairer Driven Education (RDE) series, with seven sessions in rooms S229 through S231 on repair planning, insurer negotiations, leadership, shop finances, and auto glass, according to SEMA's education schedule. I-CAR runs courses throughout the day, and Rivian takes over the ADAS Showcase.
Morning
- "Stop Guessing, Start Earning: Building Bulletproof Repair Plans," 9:30 to 11 a.m., Room S229. Danny Gredinberg of the Database Enhancement Gateway and Andrew Batenhorst of Pacific Collision Center lead a hands-on workshop in which attendees build a complete repair plan together and look for commonly missed operations.
- "The 3 Daily Mistakes Repair Shops Make That Empower Insurers," 9:30 to 11 a.m., Room S230. Sean Preston of Coverall Law and Tim Ronak of AkzoNobel group 30 steps into three areas (protection, payment, and process) that shops can use to avoid handing insurers leverage.
- "Own It: The Difference Between Responsibility and Accountability," 9:30 to 11 a.m., Room S231. Tony Adams and Melissa Wolfe of LeadersWay offer a leadership framework for getting teams to own results rather than just tasks.
- Repairify press conference, 10 a.m., at the Opus IVS booth, according to Repairify's PR firm. Repairify CEO Srisu Subrahmanyam and Opus IVS CEO Brian Herron are scheduled to speak, followed by a look at new products from Opus IVS, asTech, and BlueDriver: the CarDAQ NXT and DriveSafe NXT collision diagnostic devices, ADAS MAP PRO, the ADAS MAP MOBILE IQ app, and the BlueDriver EDGE J2534 diagnostic interface. Opus IVS and asTech share booth #33063; BlueDriver MAX is at #34066.
- ADAS Showcase, booth #31200. Rivian's Ryan Davenport and David Calabuig lead "Calibration Failed. Now What?" at 10:15 a.m., working through a known calibration issue with attendees, and "Find It, Fix It, Recalibrate" at 11:30 a.m. Open engagement blocks for questions follow each session.
Midday
- "The Profit & Control Playbook: Bringing Auto Glass In-House," noon to 1:30 p.m., Room S230. Shauna Davis and Jason Horne of Kaizen Glass Solutions cover how shops that have moved glass work out of sublet have handled it, and how to judge whether it makes sense for a given business.
- "Financial Success Starts with a Plan: Turning Numbers into Action," noon to 1:30 p.m., Room S231. Tracy Dombrowski of Collision Advice and Maria Quintero cover shop budgets, breakeven and desired net profit, and setting technician production goals from budgeted numbers.
- "Speak Their Language: Communication That Actually Works in a Body Shop," noon to 1:30 p.m., Room S229. Adams and Wolfe apply the DiSC communication model to conflicts between estimators, technicians, painters, CSRs, and managers.
- "ADAS Unlocked: Ensuring ADAS Performance on Modified Vehicles," 1 p.m., Room N255. A SEMA panel, including Becky Mueller of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Stew Peregrin of Autel, covers evaluating, diagnosing, calibrating, and validating ADAS on modified vehicles, plus updates on "Right-to-Modify" efforts and SEMA's certification program.
Afternoon
- IDEAS Collide Showcase, 2:30 to 4 p.m., Room S229. Seven 10-minute talks, including Joel Adcock of Revv on "The Scan Is Not the Story," Justin Allen of Hunter Engineering on "What Will You Do When the Cars Stop Crashing?" Herron on growing a business, Preston on reasonable pricing law, and Daniel Burkholder of BodyShop Marketing on how AI search is changing how customers find shops.
All day
- I-CAR: courses from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in rooms S224 and S225 on blueprinting, glue pull repair, GMA/MIG welding, ADAS calibration requirements, and diagnostics and scan tools, plus live welding demos at booth #33139 and Collision Repair Stage presentations, which I-CAR posts on demand the next day.
- SEMA Live, Day 2, streaming on YouTube and Facebook, with Mario Andretti, Sung Kang, Richard Rawlings, and Chris Forsberg.
