The Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMIF) is urging its members to sign up to the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair in order to participate in directing the future of the industry.

The RMIF represents 8,000 businesses in the retail motor sector, including franchised dealers and independent garages.

Sue Robinson, RMIF director, said: “Membership of the Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair is currently around five thousand. Unfortunately only a tenth of these are businesses in the independent sector.

"Participating in the code offers you one very important thing –an industry standard that crosses all types of business, big or small, franchised or independent.”

Robinson said that the businesses which intend to have a future in the industry must help to increase its viability and raise its public perception by joining the code.

Robinson adds: “Government bodies will look to the code to measure the success of the industry in regulating itself and reducing the claimed effect of consumer detriment.

“The success of this code will be seen as the measure of the success of the industry. So join the industry to protect its own future. Get off the fence, join the code, and play your part to help your own business, and the whole sector.”