Archive:Motor trades statistics - NACE Rev. 2

Data from April 2012. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article presents an overview of statistics for the motor trades sector in the European Union (EU), as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 45. The activities within this sector are very different in terms of the frequency of purchase of the goods and services offered. The purchase of motor vehicles is usually the result of a long-term process, the collection of information and comparison between different vehicles and different suppliers. The retailing and the repair of motor vehicles are to some extent substitutes, in that the purchase of a replacement vehicle may often be postponed, particularly in times of economic hardship.

Table 1: Key indicators, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Division 45), EU-27, 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Figure 1: Sectoral breakdown of wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Division 45), EU-27, 2009 (1)
(% share of sectoral total) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Table 2a: Sectoral breakdown of key indicators, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Division 45), EU-27, 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Table 2b: Sectoral breakdown of key indicators, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Division 45), EU-27, 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Table 3: Largest and most specialised Member States in wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Division 45), 2009 (1) - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Table 4a: Key indicators, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Division 45), 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Table 4b: Key indicators, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (NACE Division 45), 2009 - Source: Eurostat (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Main statistical findings

Structural profile

There were 765 thousand enterprises operating with motor trades (Division 45) as their main activity in the EU-27 in 2009. Together they employed 4.0 million persons, equivalent to 3.0 % of all persons employed in the non-financial business economy (Sections B to J and L to N and Division 95) and 12.0 % of the distributive trades (Section G) workforce. They generated EUR 127 658 million of value added which was 2.3 % of the non-financial business economy total and 11.5 % of the distributive trades total.

The apparent labour productivity of the EU-27's motor trades sector in 2009 was EUR 32 thousand per person employed, around one quarter lower than the non-financial business economy average (EUR 41.6 thousand per person employed) but broadly in line with the distributive trades average (EUR 33 thousand per person employed). This sector’s average personnel costs were EUR 27.3 thousand per employee, again below the non-financial business economy average (EUR 30.0 thousand per employee) but in this case above the average for distributive trades (EUR 25.0 thousand per employee). Compared with the distributive trades average, the higher than average personnel costs and slightly lower apparent labour productivity for the EU-27’s motor trades sector in 2009 resulted in a wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio that was relatively low, 117.4 % –- the distributive trades average was 133.2 %, which in turn was lower than the 138.8 % average for the whole of the non-financial business economy.

The gross operating rate is the ratio of the gross operating surplus to turnover and is a measure of operating profitability; generally enterprises operating within distributive trades have low gross operating rates because their activity inherently leads to high turnover from purchasing and selling goods without transformation. For the EU-27’s motor trades sector this rate was 4.2 % in 2009, less than half the non-financial business economy average (9.7 %) and lower than the distributive trades average (5.1 %). In 2009, the EU-27’s motor trades sector had the fifth lowest level of operating profitability (using this measure) among the NACE divisions within the EU-27’s non-financial business economy.

Sectoral analysis

The sale of motor vehicles (Group 45.1) was the largest subsector within the EU-27’s motor trades sector, particularly in value added terms where it contributed more than half the sectoral total (50.9 %). The second largest subsector was motor vehicle maintenance and repair (Group 45.2) which employed close to two fifths of the sectoral workforce and generated three tenths of value added. An analysis of the shares for the two largest subsectors – see Figure 1 – underlines the different characteristics of these activities: the sale of motor vehicles concerns the sale of expensive capital goods, while the maintenance and repair of motor vehicles provides labour-intensive services. The third largest subsector was the sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories (Group 45.3) while by far the smallest subsector was the motorcycle distribution activity covering the sale, maintenance and repair of motorcycles as well as sales of related parts and accessories (Group 45.4).

Apparent labour productivity was notably higher for the sale of motor vehicles subsector than for other subsectors in the EU-27 in 2009, at EUR 39 thousand per person employed, close to the non-financial business economy average. Average personnel costs were also higher for this subsector, reaching EUR 31.9 thousand per employee, nearly EUR 2 thousand above the non-financial business economy average. In contrast, the motor vehicle maintenance and repair subsector recorded the lowest ratios among the four subsectors for both of these measures. When combining apparent labour productivity and average personnel costs to produce the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio the four subsectors split into two pairs: ratios above the sectoral average were recorded for the two pure sales subsectors, namely the sale of motor vehicles and the sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories, while lower wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios were recorded for motor vehicle maintenance and repair and for motorcycle distribution. In all four subsectors the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio was below the distributive trades and non-financial business economy averages.

There was far more diversity in the EU-27 gross operating rates of the four subsectors in 2009. The motor vehicle maintenance and repair subsector stood out from the others as its 11.9 % gross operating rate was above the non-financial business economy average (9.7 %), and was more than double the rate in the other subsectors. The lowest rate of 2.7 % was recorded for the sale of motor vehicles; this was the lowest rate for all distributive trades NACE groups and the eighth lowest among the non-financial business economy NACE groups for which 2009 data are available.

Country analysis

Regardless of the motor trades subsector concerned Germany had the largest contribution to EU-27 value added in 2009, ranging from a 20.9 % share for motorcycle distribution to a 32.7 % share for the sale of motor vehicles. For the whole of the motor trades sector the German contribution to EU-27 sectoral value added averaged 29.2 %, nearly double the next highest share of 15.2 % in the United Kingdom. Among the Member States, Germany was also the most specialised country for motor trades in value added terms, as it generated 3.0 % of its non-financial business economy value added in this sector in 2009. Also relatively highly specialised in motor trades were Belgium (where 2.8 % of non-financial business economy value added came from this sector), Romania (2.7 %) and Portugal (2.6 %). The least specialised Member States were the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland and Slovenia, where less than 1.5 % of non-financial business economy value added stemmed from motor trades.

The relatively low wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio recorded for the EU-27’s motor trades sector in 2009 was relatively widespread. Cyprus, the Czech Republic and Spain recorded ratios between 90 % and 100 % in 2009, indicating that apparent labour productivity was up to 10 % lower than average personnel costs, while even lower wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios were recorded in Ireland (84.4 %), Italy (80.4 %) and Slovenia (49.6 %). Only Romania and Germany recorded wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios for motor trades that were above their national non-financial business economy averages, with Romania recording the highest ratio among the Member States, at 234.6 %.

Given the distributive nature of the motor trades sector, it is unsurprising that the gross operating rate was lower than the average for the whole of the non-financial business in all Member States in 2009. As was the case for the wage-adjusted labour productivity ratio, Romania recorded the highest gross operating rate (9.6 %) for the motor trades sector in 2009, while Slovenia recorded a negative gross operating rate (-3.0 %) and Ireland a rate of 0.0 %.

Data sources and availability

The analysis presented in this article is based on the main dataset for structural business statistics (SBS) which are disseminated annually. The series provides information for each Member State as well as a number of non-member countries at a detailed level according to the activity classification NACE. Data are available for a wide range of variables.

Context

This article presents an overview of statistics for the motor trades sector in the EU, as covered by NACE Rev. 2 Division 45. This division includes all activities related to motor vehicles (except their manufacture and renting) and also covers vans, caravans, motor homes, lorries, trailers, trucks. The activities concerned are the sale of new and second-hand vehicles, their repair and maintenance, and the sale of parts and accessories. Sales include both wholesale (own account and commission) and retail sales. Maintenance and repair also includes activities such as washing, polishing and the installation of parts and accessories. The same activities (sale, repair, maintenance, installation of parts and accessories) for motorcycles and mopeds are covered separately.

This NACE division is composed of four groups:

the sale of motor vehicles (Group 45.1);
the maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (Group 45.2);
the sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories (Group 45.3);
the sale, maintenance and repair of motorcycles and related parts and accessories (Group 45.4).

This division does not include the retail sale of automotive fuel and lubricating or cooling products (part of retail trade, Division 47) or the renting of motor vehicles or motorcycles (included within rental and leasing activities, Division 77).

Further Eurostat information

SBS – trade (sbs_dt)

Annual detailed enterprise statistics – trade (sbs_na_dt)

Annual detailed enterprise statistics for trade (NACE Rev.2 G) (sbs_na_dt_r2)

Preliminary results on trade, main indicators (NACE Rev.2) (sbs_dt_r2preli)

SMEs - Annual enterprise statistics broken down by size classes – trade (sbs_sc_dt)

Distributive trades broken down by employment size classes (NACE Rev.2 G) (sbs_sc_dt_r2)

Distributive trades broken down by size class of turnover (NACE Rev.2 G) (sbs_sctrn_dt_r2)

Breakdown of turnover by product - trade (dt_cpa)

Breakdown of turnover by product type for wholesale trade (NACE Rev.2 G46) (dt_cpa_n46_r2)

SBS - regional data - all activities (sbs_r)

SBS data by NUTS 2 regions and NACE Rev.2, from 2008 onwards (sbs_r_nuts06_r2)

Dedicated section

Structural business statistics

Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)

Motor trades (NACE Rev. 2): tables and figures

Other information

Regulation 58/1997 of 20 December 1996 concerning structural business statistics
Decision 2367/2002/EC of 16 December 2002 on the Community statistical programme 2003 to 2007
Regulation 295/2008 of 11 March 2008 concerning structural business statistics