The data, taken from 1link Service Network, covers the period between January 2024 and 9th March 2025. It shows 62% of service, maintenance and repair (SMR) jobs completed for fleets in the East of England occurred in independents with the remaining 38% being handled by franchise dealers. The figures for the other regions are shown in the map above.

Tim Meadows said: “These regional variations are quite wide and, to some extent, are unexpected. It would seem sensible to suggest that the high use of independents in the East of England might be due to relatively few franchise dealers being available in an area that remains largely rural – but Wales has the lowest use of independents and is a similar kind of region in those respects.

“Instead, it seems likely that the patterns being seen in the data across the UK are based not just on local factors but the preferences of fleets when it comes to their individual SMR policies, and the type and age of vehicles they operate. We know, for example, that both older vehicles and vans are more likely to be maintained at independents, while newer prestige cars are normally serviced by franchise dealers.”

Tim added: “Some of these trends can largely be explained by fleet policies, which are often influenced by the preferences of the used market and their influence on residual values. Used car buyers are generally reassured by the presence of a franchise dealer service history, while van buyers are much less concerned about where a vehicle has been maintained.

“It’s also interesting to note that 42% of maintenance jobs for EVs are being undertaken by independents. Of course, some of these will be general maintenance work that is common to all types of vehicles, but the data does suggest that the independent sector are gearing up to offer fleets a range of EV SMR services, something that we also hear in anecdotal feedback.”