68% Micro
26% Small
3% Mid
2% Large
1% Mega
INSIGHTS - MARCH 2025
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
77,385
Annual Sales
£281bn +
Employees
576,495
Economic Contribution
£29bn
Tags
Location of Car Retail Companies
Car Retail Companies by Size
Largest Car Retail Companies
Turnover
Ford Motor Company Limited
£13.3bn
Sytner Group Limited
£7.4bn
Bmw (Uk) Limited
£5.5bn
Car Retail Companies by Age
30% Young
25% Established
24% Startup
20% Mature
0% New
Fastest Growing Car Retail Companies
33% Declining
26% Healthy
17% High
14% Rapid
10% Low
Fastest Growing Car Retail Companies
3yr CAGR
Car Retail Industry Competitive Environment - New Entrants vs Leavers
Car Retail Industry Valuation
EBITDA Multiple
Car Retail Industry Valuation
Turnover Multiple
Car Retail Industry Valuation
Net Asset Multiple
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 77,385 active Businesses in the UK with combined annual sales of £281 billion .
The Industry employs around 576,494 people and contributes £29 billion to the economy.
The most popular location for Car Retail companies is South East England with 11,483 and the fewest are located in Northern Ireland with 1,745.
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.
20% of the Car Retail Industry is made up of 20% Mature but the majority are Young businesses (30%) the oldest company is Haynes Brothers,limited founded in 1896.
Car Retail industry has a number of high growth companies (14%), the fastest growing company is Cinch Cars Limited with a 3 year growth rate of 150%. Other fast growing companies include Steer Automotive Group Limited (146%), Auto Body Language Limited (134%) and Polestar Automotive Uk Limited (121%).
The UK Car Retail Industry’s valuation has been improving over the past 3 years with a current EBITDA multiple of 9.11x, Turnover multiple of 0.69x and a Net Asset multiple of 2.92x.
