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BDO Motor Salary Survey

Employee costs continue to be the largest expense in any dealership, accounting for a significant percent of gross profit, and with market pressures on margins, expense management is critical to sustained profitability.

The BDO Motor Salary Survey provides a useful tool to help management evaluate their costs against national averages and similar businesses to their own.

This survey includes data from over 150 legal entities that together operate 353 dealership sites. They range from single site dealership companies to large publicly listed dealership groups. The remuneration details obtained cover 27 dealership positions.

Click here for analysis of the 2022 findings, including commentary from BDO.

Average pay (£) 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
graph Average base salary for all positions (£)
YoY % diff 		£47,500
7% 		£44,400
6.2% 		£41,800
5.2% 		£39,750
10.4% 		£36,000
-2.5% 		£36,889
6.9% 		£34,500
-1.4% 		£35,000
9.4% 		£32,000
10.3% 		£29,000
graph Average commission (£)
Average commission (%) 		£18,700
4% 		£18,000
33% 		£13,500
25% 		£13,000
25% 		£15,250
30% 		£17,256
30% 		£14,000
30% 		£14,000
30% 		£8,000
20% 		£10,900
Executive pay (£) 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
graph Managing director/CEO
YoY % diff 		£318,000
-28% 		£407,000
49.6% 		£272,000
-0.4% 		£273,000
29.4% 		£211,000
-17.1% 		£247,000
19.3% 		£207,000
-0.5% 		£208,000
14.9% 		£181,000
39.2% 		£130,000
graph Finance director
YoY % diff 		£219,000
-15.1% 		£252,000
64.7% 		£153,000
-6.5% 		£163,000
-9.2% 		£178,000
17.9% 		£151,000
4.9% 		£144,000
2.9% 		£140,000
1.4% 		£138,000
19% 		£116,000
graph Dealer principal
YoY % diff 		£127,000
-16.5% 		£148,000
27.6% 		£116,000
16% 		£100,000
3.1% 		£97,000
-14.4% 		£111,000
6.7% 		£104,000
-11.5% 		£116,000
23.4% 		£94,000
3.3% 		£91,000
graph Average salary excluding key executives
YoY % diff 		£47,300
-3.6% 		£49,000
19.5% 		£41,000
5.1% 		£39,000
-2.6% 		£40,000
£40,000
2.6% 		£39,000
5.4% 		£37,000
8.8% 		£34,000
6.3% 		£32,000
Headline data per department (£) 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
graph Vehicles
YoY % diff 		£66,700
4.2% 		£64,000
14.3% 		£56,000
£56,000
-1.8% 		£57,000
-3.1% 		£58,750
4.7% 		£56,100
0.2% 		£56,000
9.8% 		£51,000
10.3% 		£46,250
graph Parts
YoY % diff 		£33,400
7.7% 		£31,000
5.1% 		£29,500
5.4% 		£28,000
1.8% 		£27,500
-9.1% 		£30,000
5.3% 		£28,500
3.6% 		£27,500
1.9% 		£27,000
3.8% 		£26,000
graph Service
YoY % diff 		£39,000
9.2% 		£35,700
2.7% 		£34,750
10.3% 		£31,500
-4% 		£32,750
£32,750
4% 		£31,500
5% 		£30,000
3.4% 		£29,000
5.5% 		£27,500
graph Administration
YoY % diff 		£36,700
7.6% 		£34,100
4.1% 		£32,750
5.6% 		£31,000
1.6% 		£30,500
-4.9% 		£32,000
1.6% 		£31,500
£31,500
5% 		£30,000
6.2% 		£28,250
Staff turnover & average working hours 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
graph Average dealership all staff turnover (yrs)
Average dealership executive staff turnover 		8yrs
8 		9yrs
9 		9yrs
9 		9yrs
9 		7yrs
8 		8yrs
10 		7yrs
10 		7yrs
10 		7yrs
10 		8yrs
10
graph Average number of hours worked per dealership employee per week (all staff)
Average holiday entitlement per dealership employee per annum (all staff) 		42hrs
24 		42hrs
24 		41hrs
24 		41hrs
24 		41hrs
24 		41hrs
24 		41hrs
26 		42hrs
24 		42hrs
24 		42hrs
24

The full version of the report with the detail for all positions is only available to participants. 

If you would like to take part in the next BDO Motor Salary Survey, discuss the findings further or talk with us about any wider sector issues, please contact steve.lebas@bdo.co.uk.