INSIGHTS - DECEMBER 2024

UK Car Retail Industry

UK Car Retail Industry Information

The car sales industry involves the wholesale and retail (including via auction or online) sale of new and second-hand motor vehicles, motorbikes, lorries and trucks, repair and maintenance of vehicles and the sale of parts and accessories.

Active Businesses

76,824

Annual Sales

£272bn +

Employees

567,016

Economic Contribution 

£28bn

Tags

Location of Car Retail Companies

Car Retail Companies by Size

68% Micro

26% Small

3% Mid

2% Large

1% Mega

Car Retail Companies by Age

31% Young

26% Established

23% Startup

21% Mature

0% New

Fastest Growing Car Retail Companies

32% Declining

26% Healthy

17% High

15% Rapid

10% Low

Car Retail Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers

Car Retail Industry Valuation

EBITDA Multiple

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Car Retail Industry Valuation

Turnover Multiple

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Car Retail Industry Valuation

Net Asset Multiple

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Note - from March 2020 multiples are calculated monthly, prior to this they were calculated on an annual basis.
UK Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles Industry Insights

There are 76,824 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of  £272 billion .

The Industry employs around 567,016 people and contributes £28 billion to the economy.

The most popular location for Car Retail companies is South East England with 11,433 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 1,754.

The largest Car Retail company is Ford Motor Company Limited with a turnover of £13.3bn. 68% of the industry is comprised of Micro companies with only 3% Mid companies.

21% of the Car Retail Industry is made up of 21% Mature but the majority are Young businesses (31%) the oldest company is Haynes Brothers,limited founded in 1896.

Car Retail industry has a number of high growth companies (15%), the fastest growing company is Steer Automotive Group Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 146%. Other fast growing companies include Auto Body Language Limited (134%), Arrowhead Electrical Products (Uk) Limited (111%) and E-cars Uk Auto Sales Ltd (109%).

The UK Car Retail Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 8.84x, Turnover multiple of 0.75x and a Net Asset multiple of 3.13x.