Nearly all vehicle manufacturers are gaining ground in the battle with independent garages for the service and repair of cars less than four years old, says Castrol in its Trend Tracker report.

And report names Nissan as the most improved franchise dealer network for customer retention since Trend Tracker launched in 1994.

Volvo still holds prime position for customer retention with 93% customers returning, followed by German prestige marques Mercedes, BMW and Audi on 90.4%, with Nissan in seventh spot at 85%.

Only Citroen shows a decreased performance, down to 77.2%.

Independent garages show much bigger improvements in service penetration as cars get older. Biggest growth area is the medium volume marques, with 4-9 year-old Peugeots in particular providing excellent growth potential for independents.

But the biggest independent garage gains have come from cars over 10 years old. They have stolen ground from retail parts shops with the car age group traditionally serviced by the DIY sector.