Car repair workshops and dealerships in the EU in figures: businesses, employment and turnover in 27 countries

Key findings

• According to Eurostat, 246,639 enterprises with 1,492,486 persons employed were engaged in the sale of motor vehicles (NACE 45.1) in the EU in 2024. Maintenance and repair (NACE 45.2) accounted for 514,712 enterprises with 1,474,377 persons employed.
• In 2024, the sale of motor vehicles generated turnover of €1,140,134 million and value added of €107,988 million in the EU. Maintenance and repair generated turnover of €171,331 million and value added of €53,965 million.
• The sector is fragmented. In 2024, the average enterprise in repair in the EU had 2.9 persons employed, and in the sale of motor vehicles 6.1. In France, 95% of automotive services businesses had fewer than 11 employees in 2023.
• In 2024, value added per person employed was €72,350 in the sale of motor vehicles and €36,600 in repair. In repair, it varies more than sevenfold between countries, from €9,740 in Greece to €71,980 in Luxembourg.
• Consolidation continues. Germany's 100 largest dealer groups had a total of 106,828 staff in 2025, and the sector is becoming increasingly international.

Anyone running a dealership, a dealer group or a workshop usually knows their local competitors. Few know how big the whole sector is in their country and in the EU. The official answer comes from Eurostat's structural business statistics (SBS). They track dealerships and car repair workshops in Europe on a uniform basis for all member states: the number of businesses, the number of people, turnover and value added. These figures show how fragmented the market is, how much room is left for dealer groups and how your own business compares with the national average in terms of productivity. All figures in this report are for 2024 unless stated otherwise.

Car repair workshops in Europe: how many there are and how many people work in them

Eurostat tracks the sector separately in two groups. Sale of motor vehicles (NACE 45.1) covers dealerships, dealers and used car traders. Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (NACE 45.2) covers car repair workshops, body shops and tyre services.

Source: Eurostat, sbs_ovw_act, 2024.

There are roughly twice as many enterprises in repair as in the sale of motor vehicles, but they are smaller. The sale of motor vehicles has a much higher turnover because it includes the price of the cars sold. Value added is therefore a better measure for comparing performance: it shows how much a business creates over and above the goods and services it buys in. Your own margin, stock and branch performance can be tracked for such a comparison in Omnetic: the Reporting module calculates them from the same data that the other modules work with.

Trends 2021–2024

Source: Eurostat, sbs_ovw_act, 2021–2024. The figures for the sale of motor vehicles in 2022 are Eurostat estimates.

Dealerships in Europe by country

The table shows the large euro area countries and the countries of Central Europe; all figures are for 2024. A colon means that Eurostat has not published the figure. It is either missing or confidential. Figures tend to be confidential where there are so few businesses in a group that the data of an individual enterprise could be derived from the number.

Source: Eurostat, sbs_ovw_act, 2024.

The average size of an enterprise also depends on how the statistics count an enterprise. A single enterprise may have several activities and several sites. A dealer group with ten branches may therefore appear in the statistics as a single enterprise with many employees. In countries where groups predominate, the average per enterprise is therefore higher than in countries where independent workshops predominate.

Productivity: value added per person employed

Source: Eurostat, sbs_ovw_act, 2024.

The differences between countries have several causes, which follow directly from how the statistics are compiled and from sector analyses:

• Business structure. The number of persons employed also includes working proprietors. Where small workshops with one or two people predominate, the owner's work has a large influence on the result. In France, 95% of automotive services businesses had fewer than 11 employees in 2023.
• Split between sales and service. The statistics classify an enterprise by its principal activity, that is, the one that usually generates the most value added. A typical dealer, however, combines vehicle sales, servicing and parts sales. Its workshop then appears in the statistics under the sale of motor vehicles (45.1), not repair (45.2). Countries with a high share of dealer workshops have fewer people in 45.2 than actually work in servicing.
• Demand for servicing. A French analysis of staffing needs in the sector lists the age of the car parc and household living standards among the factors that determine the need for staff in vehicle sales and repair. An older car parc means more repairs and maintenance, while lower household incomes put pressure on the price of a workshop job.

In your own business, value added per person corresponds to the ratio of hours sold to hours worked. Time-keeping in Omnetic records time worked directly against the job and its lines. This shows whether the hours sold match the hours worked and what the utilisation is by job, person and branch.

What this means for workshops and dealers

The market is fragmented and groups are growing. With an average of 2.9 persons employed per enterprise in repair, most of the market consists of small businesses. This leaves room for dealer groups that take over more branches and brands. In Germany, the 100 largest dealer groups had a combined 106,828 staff in 2025. Consolidation continues there, and groups increasingly operate in several countries. A group growing through acquisitions takes over each new branch's systems, master data and procedures as well.

Recruitment remains a bottleneck. In France, according to an estimate by the sector body, 406,200 people, including apprentices, worked in the sale and repair of cars, motorcycles and heavy vehicles as at 30 June 2026. Demand for technicians is growing where the car parc is ageing. In such a labour market, it pays to monitor the utilisation of every technician, not just the headcount in the workshop.

How to compare yourself with your national average. You can calculate your own business's value added in simplified form by deducting purchased goods and services (vehicles, parts and energy) from revenue. Divide the result by the number of people, including working proprietors, and compare it with the figure for your country and NACE group in the table. A dealer with a workshop compares itself with group 45.1, because that is where the statistics classify it. An independent workshop compares itself with group 45.2. In Omnetic, Reporting provides standard views of margin, stock and branches from the same data that the other modules work with. Every figure can be drilled down to the source record.

All 27 EU countries in one table

Countries are ranked by number of enterprises. Turnover is in millions of euros and value added per person employed in thousands of euros; persons per enterprise is the ratio of persons employed to enterprises.

Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (NACE 45.2), 2024

Sale of motor vehicles (NACE 45.1), 2024

Source: Eurostat, sbs_ovw_act, 2024.

Where the data comes from and how it was calculated

All figures in the tables come from Eurostat's structural business statistics, table sbs_ovw_act for 2024 (trends for 2021–2024). The groups used are G451 (sale of motor vehicles) and G452 (maintenance and repair of motor vehicles). Indicators used:

Derived indicators are calculated for the same country, activity and year:

• Persons employed per enterprise = EMP_NR / ENT_NR.
• Value added per person employed in euros = AV_MEUR × 1,000,000 / EMP_NR. The result corresponds to the LABPRY_TEUR indicator multiplied by a thousand.

The 2024 data uses the NACE Rev. 2 classification, published by Eurostat in 2006. The statistics do not distinguish between authorised and independent workshops or between dealers of individual brands. Table sbs_ovw_act does not give a breakdown of businesses by size either. This report therefore shows the share of small businesses only as an average and supplements it with national data.

Watch out when reading the figures

• Persons employed are not employees. Eurostat records the number of persons employed (EMP_NR) and the number of employees (SAL_NR) separately. This report works with persons employed, which also include working proprietors.
• National figures have a different scope. Sector bodies often define the sector more broadly: including motorcycles, heavy vehicles, parts sales or apprentices. They also tend to have a different reference date. The French figure of 406,200 people therefore cannot be compared directly with Eurostat.
• Do not mix years. Compare your business's 2025 figure with 2024 only in the knowledge that the market may have changed in the meantime. When comparing with newer Eurostat releases, check whether the NACE classification has changed.
• A dealer's turnover is misleading. In the sale of motor vehicles, turnover mainly reflects the price of the cars sold. Value added is a more accurate indicator of a business's performance.

How Omnetic helps businesses in a fragmented sector

The statistics show a sector full of small businesses and growing groups. Small businesses lack time for administration. A group taking over more branches lacks consistent data. Omnetic solves both with a single cloud platform instead of separate systems and spreadsheets.

• One record for all branches. All Omnetic modules work with a single shared record of the vehicle, customer, jobs and money in DMS Core. Data is not re-keyed between modules, even when the group adds a new branch or brand. During migration, master data and open items are transferred. Closed history remains available in a read-only archive.
• Servicing from check-in to invoice. The Workshop module manages the service job from quotation through vehicle check-in, parts and planning to invoicing. Lines can be split between the customer, warranty and the insurer. It is suitable for both authorised and independent workshops.
• Step-by-step implementation. Omnetic can be introduced gradually: start with one module and add others later. Existing systems, such as accounting software or the manufacturer's portal, connect via the open platform (APIs, webhooks, manufacturer integrations). The Omnetic group has 64 certified manufacturer integrations.

The Omnetic group's products and services are used by more than 12,000 business customers in the automotive sector across Europe. Book an Omnetic demo and see how the platform would work in your dealership or workshop.

Related articles

• Average age of cars in Europe: a comparison of EU countries and the impact on servicing and parts
• Workshop productivity: how to measure utilisation, efficiency and lost hours
• Workshop labour rate: calculating it from costs and the hours actually sold

FAQ

Where do the statistics classify a dealer that both sells and repairs cars?

In a single group according to its principal activity, that is, the one that usually generates the most value added. For most dealers, this is vehicle sales, so the entire enterprise, including the workshop, falls under the sale of motor vehicles (45.1).

Do the figures include parts sales?

In groups 45.1 and 45.2, only where parts sales are a secondary activity of a dealer or workshop. Businesses whose principal activity is the sale of parts and accessories are classified separately by NACE in group 45.3.

Why does the number of people in the sector according to national statistics differ from Eurostat?

National sources tend to have a different scope for the sector (motorcycles, heavy vehicles, parts), a different reference date and a different way of counting people, for example including apprentices. Eurostat is therefore used to compare countries with each other, while national data serves as a supplement for your own market.

Can Omnetic help compare the performance of a dealer group's branches?

Yes. Reporting shows margin, stock (age, turnover, structure) and branches from the same data that the other modules work with. Every figure can be drilled down to the source record, and the data can be exported to XLS and CSV or to an external BI tool.

Sources

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12. https://www.omnetic.com/
13. https://www.omnetic.com/dms-core
14. https://www.omnetic.com/faq
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18. https://www.ifa-info.de/top-100