BMW produces the most reliable company cars in the UK, according to a survey of the 50 largest contract hire and leasing companies.

Companies in the FN50 are asked to name their most reliable cars and vans based on the number of breakdowns and warranty claims.

BMW repeated its double victory in the 2011 FN50 survey coming top as most reliable car manufacturer as well as having three cars in the top 10 with the top spot taken by the 3 Series.

The Volkswagen Golf has moved up one place from last year, while the third-placed Audi A4 is five positions higher than in 2011.

The Honda Civic (predominantly the 2006-2011 model) takes fourth place after a brief absence from the top 10, while Honda demonstrates its consistence in producing reliable cars with the Accord in fifth position, retaining a long record in the top five of the survey.

The lower half of the top 10 contains three cars absent from the rankings in 2011, the first being the Mercedes-Benz C-Class in sixth place, one position ahead of the Audi A3.

The BMW 1 Series and Ford Focus scored equal points to achieve joint eighth place, while the final place in the top 10 is taken by the BMW 5 Series, proving the latest version of the car is as reliable as its predecessor.

Tim Abbott, managing director at BMW UK, said: “To have three of our biggest selling cars in the top ten is a fantastic achievement and our customers will take great heart from realising they not only drive a class-leading car in terms of efficiency and driving pleasure but also one that is the most reliable too.

“To have the BMW 3 Series crowned the most reliable company vehicle in a car parc or nearly 600,000 UK cars is quite a statement, while no other manufacturer can boast three big selling models in the top ten to take the honour of most reliable outright manufacturer. Both titles are for the second year in a row. Following this news we will soon offer further initiatives for the corporate customer that will add to the ownership experience, but more of that shortly.”

Those responding to the car reliability survey have combined fleet sizes numbering more than 585,000, while those providing information for the car manufacturer element have a total car parc of more than 484,000.

Top 10 most reliable cars (2011 position in brackets)

1 BMW 3 series (1)
2 Volkswagen Golf (3)
3 Audi A4 (8)
4 Honda Civic (-)
5 Honda Accord (2)
6 Mercedes-Benz C-Class (-)
7 Audi A3 (4)
8= BMW 1 Series (-)
8= Ford Focus (-)
10 BMW 5 Series (10)

Top 10 most reliable car manufacturers (2011 position in brackets)

1 BMW (1)
2 Audi (2)
3 Honda (3)
4 Volkswagen (4)
5 Toyota (5)
6 Ford (8)
7 Skoda (10)
8 Mercedes-Benz (7)
9 Nissan (6)
10 Volvo (-)