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.

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Average pay (£)		2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
	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
	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

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
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
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
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
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

	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014
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
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
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
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
	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
	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.