The Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealer network is looking to stand up against main rival Ford with 24-hour breakdown service cover across its 98 dealerships.

Out of those dealers, 70% also offer 24 hour servicing and repair through the night.

Ford also offers 24-hour break down cover, but Mercedes believes operating 24 hour servicing across the majority of its sites will help to give it a boost.

A spokeman for Mercedes-Benz said: "If you breakdown at 02.00 in the morning, or 21.00 in the evening, a service technician in a fully equipped van from one of our franchised dealerships will attend the breakdown. It's not outsourced to The AA or RAC.

"The roadside fix repair rate is 80% (80% are repaired at the roadside - not needing to be recovered to the nearest dealer).

"Our attendance time is an national average of 52-minutes (that's on a 24-clock)."

The brand embarked on a marketing campaign for its CV business this month with a promotional trip using the Citan small van to visit all 98 dealerships. Mercedes is now using the new tagline 'born to run' for its range of vans.