Aftermarket giant Bosch has re-launched its vehicle-servicing 'soft franchise' scheme to help repairers take advantage of the rapidly growing out-of-warranty, three-years-plus vehicle parc.

More than 100 garages have signed up to Bosch Car Service and the company hopes to have more than 400 sites on board by 2005. The initiative has already proved a success in Europe.

In its new incarnation, service departments will have to purchase outright the equipment they need, rather than lease it as was the case with the previous franchise scheme.