Yell Business has revealed that 20,424 automotive businesses were started in 2021, as business reportedly boomed in the automotive sector.
Using data acquired from Companies House, the research showed that despite another challenging year, the entrepreneurial spirit of the nation is alive and well. More businesses were founded per month in 2021 than in 2020, or even during pre-pandemic 2019.
In fact, an average of 13% more new businesses were founded each month in 2021 vs. 2019 with the automotive industry said to be contributing significantly.
Of those ventures founded within the automotive sector, some 7,257 were companies working in vehicle maintenance and repair, equating to 36% of automotive businesses started. A further 6,137 that registered with Companies House were based around the sale of used cars and other light vehicles. In total, sales businesses made up more than half (53%) of all companies started in the automotive sector last year.
Yell’s research also revealed where budding entrepreneurs could find the biggest opportunities within the automotive sector. This was achieved by analysing Google search demand for the likes of ‘London car repair’ versus the actual number of businesses offering this specific service in each area.
The demand for mechanics in Milton Keynes is said to far outweigh the supply, with over 35.96 searches per listed firm, providing an opportunity for any mechanic looking to go it alone. Milton Keynes also tops the list of cities with the highest demand for services including car wash (334.04 searches per listing), car rental (263.70 searches per listing), garages (64.44 searches per listing) and driving lessons (84.62 searches per listing).
| Business type | Top three locations based on searches per listing |
| Car wash | 1. Milton Keynes (334.04)
2. Salisbury (262.86) 3. Bath (257.95) |
| Car rental | 1. Milton Keynes (263.70)
2. Canterbury (220.00) 3. Oxford (178.78) |
| Garage | 1. Milton Keynes (64.44)
2. Newcastle upon Tyne (61.64) 3. Bournemouth (53.56) |
| Driving lessons | 1. Milton Keynes (84.62)
2. Bath (75.52) 3. Truro (58.89) |
| Mechanic | 1. Milton Keynes (35.96)
2. Belfast (30.64) 3. Nottingham (15.52) |
Miles, Chief Executive Officer of Yell, commented: “With the challenges of the last two years, we might expect to find that fewer people were deciding to take the leap into the world of starting and running their own business. However, the data clearly shows that it has potentially inspired more people to take ownership of what they do for a living and finally make the dream of running their own business come true.
“With the background of the pandemic and numerous economic and supply chain challenges, it’s really encouraging to see that the entrepreneurial spirit of the UK is continuing to grow year on year. We look forward to working with some of these new business owners in the automotive sector in 2022, to help make their venture a success.”
