Labour rates at Mazda franchised dealers have been found to be the lowest in the country for the second year running.

An independent survey of 27 vehicle manufacturers highlighted the variation across the country with the average labour rate recorded at Mazda dealers being £44 an hour, according to Warranty Direct.

The survey revealed that the maximum recorded hourly labour rate to repair a car at a Mazda franchised dealer (£88) was almost £70 lower than the £152.75 charged by a BMW franchised dealer in central London – the highest hourly rate recorded.

The company beat its chief rivals such as Toyota and Vauxhall, which Warranty Direct reported, each had an average labour rate in their franchised dealers of £51 an hour, Volkswagen, which came in at £58 an hour and Renault and Honda each at £50 an hour.

Mazda topped Warranty Direct’s low dealer labour rate chart last year.

David McGonigle, Mazda’s fleet and remarketing director, says: “The latest Warranty Direct survey underlines what many fleet operators have already discovered and that is the value for money which Mazda offers.

Mazda has already revealed plans to double its network of fleet specialist dealers as it seeks to further expand corporate business. Currently Mazda has a 140-strong UK dealer network with seven specialist fleet dealers. However, by the end of 2004 Mazda expects to have a network of 157 dealers of which 15 will be fleet specialists with a dedicated corporate sales manager and a sizeable corporate demonstrator fleet.

Manufacturer Highest Franchised Dealer Average Labour Rate Recorded
Labour Rate Recorded (£) (Franchised & Independent) (£)
MAZDA 88 44
NISSAN 73 46
SEAT 82 46
FIAT 80 46
MG ROVER 82 47
SKODA 80 48
CITROEN 76 49
PEUGEOT 88 50
HONDA 76 50
GM DAEWOO 85 50
RENAULT 94 50
FORD 106 50
TOYOTA 82 51
VAUXHALL 88 51
MITSUBISHI 82 53
LAND ROVER 112 55
VOLKSWAGEN 100 58
SAAB 104 61
VOLVO 100 61
ALFA ROMEO 88 62
CHRYSLER JEEP 103 63
BMW 153 68
AUDI 129 72
PORSCHE 112 73
JAGUAR 116 75
MERCEDES 123 77
LEXUS 112 78