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The latest Castrol Professional Car Servicing & Repair Trend Tracker report suggests that the franchised dealer sector has ended a seven-year decline in the number of servicing visits.

In 2013, 24.8% of motorists said they last had their car serviced at a franchised workshop, exactly the same proportion as in 2012.

This is the first year since the 30% peak in 2005 in which franchised workshops haven’t witnessed a fall.

At the same time, independent workshops have seen their share of the servicing sector falter, following years of consistent growth.

The report indicates that 46.3% of motorists had their car serviced at an independent outlet in 2013, down from 47.3% in 2012.

Trend Tracker analyst, Chris Oakham, commented: “The data suggest that the independent sector’s run of growth could be coming to an end, and franchised dealers might well be at the start of an upturn in their fortunes.”

Castrol franchised workshop marketing manager, Jo Clayton, added: “Dealerships will benefit from growing numbers of servicing visits if we see a sustained recovery in the new car market.”