A question we often get at JS Management is: How many car garages are there in a specific area of the UK? The short answer is it depends on what kind of garage you're looking for. To demonstrate the power of our data platform, Autosites, we used a sample area in the South West, roughly stretching from Bude to Lapford, sweeping down to Kingsbridge and across to Penzance.
Mapping the Garage Landscape
In this sample zone, the car repair industry is overwhelmingly dominated by independent garages—local businesses offering service, maintenance, and repair (SMR) options. These vastly outnumber the more recognisable fast fit chains and national autocentre brands.
Our animation clearly shows the footprint of independent SMR (Service Maintenance and Repair) garages vs fast fit chains in this South West region.
While the fast fit chains are highly visible, they account for a much smaller share of the total market here. Our mapping reveals that independents make up over 90% of the car repair locations in the region we surveyed. It’s a powerful illustration of how deeply embedded these local businesses are in the South West’s automotive ecosystem.
These fast fit centres include well-known networks such as:
Kwik Fit
Halfords Autocentre
Protyre
HIQ
First Stop
NTA
Others
With Autosites, we don’t just count garages - we break down which brands dominate which areas, right down to their specific site locations.
What Percentage of Garages Also Sell Used Cars?
Another lesser-known detail: not all garages are purely focused on repairs. A small portion also operate as used car dealers, combining sales and servicing under one roof.
In our South West sample area, only around 4% of independent SMR garages also sell cars. This small crossover shows just how specialised the automotive retail and repair markets have become - even within seemingly local businesses.
In contrast, there are dedicated used car sites (sometimes operating from forecourts or pitches) that don’t offer servicing at all. Many of these are sales-only garages with no mechanical function.
The implication? If you're looking for a repair garage that also sells used cars, it’s far less common than you might think. In this example, these hybrid operations are relatively rare.
Why This Matters
The South West’s vehicle economy is nuanced, and generalised national data won’t tell you:
Which areas have the densest repair network
Which towns are dominated by independents vs chains
Where to find used car operations with or without a servicing arm
That's why we built Autosites - a tool to uncover deep market intelligence from street-level automotive business mapping. Whether you're a parts supplier, franchised dealer group, service provider, or simply researching the market, we can give you tailored insights based on precise geographies, not just broad national stats.
If you'd like access to the full data breakdown, or want to map a different region please get in touch.
Supplementary Area Insight
To help provide context, the South West has one of the UK’s highest car ownership rates per capita. According to Nimblefins, South West England consistently shows higher-than-average car ownership, a key factor in the volume of repair businesses in the area.
Combined with a rural road network and limited public transport in many of these towns, it's easy to see why local garage coverage remains high.
Interested in local garage market intelligence? We’re just getting started.
