Intelligence · Sector map · October 2026
Motor trade in the UK
119,408 active companies; 18,775 formed in the last twelve months.
Computed from Lockley's index, updated 20 October 2026.
119,408
Active UK companies
18,775
Formed in the last twelve months
16% of the sector
17,367
With a website we could match
15%
Motor trade: companies formed each year, still on the register
6,260
2019
5,811
2020
5,612
2021
6,097
2022
8,463
2023
10,689
2024
17,170
2025
15,515
2026
Where they are registered
Post townActive companies
London10,875
Birmingham3,016
Manchester2,295
Leicester1,493
Glasgow1,369
Nottingham1,274
Bristol1,206
Cardiff1,201
Bradford1,137
Leeds1,077
Registered office, which is not always where a company trades.
Hiring in the last 30 days, manager level and above
FunctionRolesCompanies
Sales1911
HR52
Engineering32
Marketing33
Operations11
Jobs data from Adzuna, matched to companies in the index.
Recorded in October 2026 so far
SignalRecordsCompanies
Hiring at manager level and above1914
New sites77
Public contracts ending32
First hires in a function22
What is counted
Active UK companies whose Companies House SIC codes begin with 45. A company with several codes can appear in more than one sector. Figures are recomputed every night.
SourcesCompanies House (Open Government Licence) · Jobs data from Adzuna · Lockley's index and its sources
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