Peugeot is looking to add up to 40 authorised repairers to its network this year and is pressing franchised dealer to fill the open points.

The move comes as the carmaker launches a contract maintenance scheme for retail customers that could see the volume of aftersales work rise dramatically. Called Peugeot Open Road, the product is available on all new cars and costs from £26.75 a month (for a 1.1-litre 206) for a contract lasting between one and five years. The scheme, which covers routine maintenance, unexpected repairs and roadside assistance, is similar to the Mini TLC programme, and ties customers to the authorised network for repairs.

Peugeot currently has 320 dealers, and around 20 standalone authorised repairer businesses, each affiliated to a franchised retailer. “We want more and we hope that our dealers will understand that it's in their interests to invest as an authorised repairer – it's good for their profits,” says Peugeot UK managing director Christian Gerard. “But if we have good applications from independents we have no issues with that.”

Official repairers will be seeing a lot more of the 307 over the next few weeks after Peugeot issued a recall for all models sold between March 13, 2003 and February 6, 2004. The company says there's a mileage calculation fault in the car's software, which means the odometer is gaining more mileage than is actually being driven. The problem came to light following a report by BBC1's Watchdog.