Consolidation and expansion of the largest dealer groups are key trends in the latest edition of the ICDP European Top 300 dealer group ranking.
Compared to the previous edition, their combined annual turnover is up 15% – similar to that of Volkswagen Group and twice that of Stellantis globally.
They operate over a third of all the franchise points in Europe and together they sell over a third of the cars sold in combined EU+EFTA+UK.
“These groups do the heavy lifting in Europe on behalf of their manufacturer partners – finding customers for battery electric cars to meet regulatory targets, helping new entrants meet their ambitious growth goals, and at the same time trying to protect the market shares of the established brands on which these groups founded their businesses.
“Almost all are privately owned, having to balance investment and risk in taking advantage of the opportunities available to them,” said ICDP.
“The entry point for the top 300 is now over €270m, up over 30% from 2021, but on average they operate 55 franchise points on behalf of 11 brands, a slight increase in the number of brands, but with 25% more franchise points than in 2021.
“That implies that the groups are becoming more committed to each of their manufacturer partners, despite their growth,” it said.
