jobfacts

Vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers

SOC 2020 7115

Vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers undertake vehicle sales, parts advisory and aftersales service advisory roles, selling new and used vehicles to the general public, and vehicle accessories and parts to garages, vehicle dealerships and the general public.

Also calledSalesmanParts adviserParts salesmanCar salesmanCar sales executiveMotor salesmanand 20 more titles
Typical full-time pay£31,9002025 Provisional
People in the job37,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month800↓ 9%on last year · 211th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers earn between £28,500 and £35,700 a year.

What full-time vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers earn, 2025
£31,900 typical£23,900lowest 10%£28,50025%£35,70075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£28,500–£35,700)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£23,900
Lowest 20% earn less than£27,900
25%£28,500
Median£31,900
75%£35,700
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £31,900
East Midlands!£35,100
North West!£33,400
Wales!£31,700
West Midlands!£30,300
East of England!£30,000
South East!£29,600
Scotland!£29,500
Yorkshire and The Humber!£29,100
North East!£24,700
LondonNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £31,900
East Midlands£35,100 (small sample)
North West£33,400 (small sample)
Wales£31,700 (small sample)
West Midlands£30,300 (small sample)
East of England£30,000 (small sample)
South East£29,600 (small sample)
Scotland£29,500 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£29,100 (small sample)
North East£24,700 (small sample)
LondonNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £27,300
  • 2024 £29,800
  • 2025 Provisional£31,900
↑ 17% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 800 jobs for vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026788
Jul 2026786
Jun 2026876
May 2026819
Apr 2026838
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026715
Jan 2026813
Dec 2025420
Nov 2025863
Oct 2025954
Sept 2025928
Aug 2025900
Jul 2025889
Jun 20251,005
May 20251,019
Apr 20251,015
Mar 2025939
Feb 20251,032
Jan 2025917
Dec 2024488
Nov 2024632
Oct 2024824
Sept 2024949
Aug 2024905
Jul 2024992
Jun 2024961
May 20241,026
Apr 20241,099
Mar 2024822
Feb 2024877
Jan 2024987
Dec 2023676
Nov 2023728
Oct 2023704
Sept 2023646
Aug 2023822
Jul 2023876
Jun 20231,175
May 20231,160
Apr 20231,039
Mar 20231,150
Feb 20231,034
Jan 20231,430
Dec 20221,010
Nov 20221,410
Oct 20221,371
Sept 20221,291
Aug 20221,608
Jul 20221,598
Jun 20221,629
May 20221,647
Apr 20221,285
Mar 20221,411
Feb 20221,445
Jan 20221,579
Dec 20211,077
Nov 20211,394
Oct 20211,436
Sept 20211,516
Aug 20211,516
Jul 20211,641
Jun 20211,561
May 20211,497
Apr 20211,263
Mar 20211,289
Feb 2021802
Jan 2021589
Dec 2020767
Nov 2020579
Oct 20201,067
Sept 2020914
Aug 2020602
Jul 2020594
Jun 2020429
May 2020485
Apr 2020760
Mar 20201,293
Feb 20201,826
Jan 20201,954
Dec 20191,347
Nov 20191,617
Oct 20191,645
Sept 20191,597
Aug 20191,626
Jul 20191,988
Jun 20191,789
May 20191,933
Apr 20191,592
Mar 20191,761
Feb 20191,703
Jan 20191,933
Dec 20181,182
Nov 20181,717
Oct 20182,065
Sept 20181,622
Aug 20181,528
Jul 20181,457
Jun 20181,664
May 20181,494
Apr 20181,457
Mar 20181,674
Feb 20181,372
Jan 20181,656
Dec 20171,288
Nov 20171,456
Oct 20171,539
Sept 20171,583
Aug 20171,691
Jul 20171,506
Jun 20172,052
May 20171,935
Apr 20171,811
Mar 20172,306
Feb 20171,699
Jan 20172,310
Is there a shortage of vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
15%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London335
Manchester49
Birmingham42
Bristol, City of39
Glasgow City37
Leeds35
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole28
Cardiff27
Coventry26
Somerset25
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers
26%!
28%!
22%!
n/p
14%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2426% (small sample)
25–3428% (small sample)
35–4422% (small sample)
45–54Not published
55–6414% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!18%
Higher education below degree!3.6%
A levels or equivalent!29%
GCSEs or equivalent32%
Other qualifications!11%
No qualifications!7.6%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent18% (small sample)
Higher education below degree3.6% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent29% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent32%
Other qualifications11% (small sample)
No qualifications7.6% (small sample)

Main employers: sale of cars and light motor vehicles (41%), maintenance and repair of motor vehicles (11%), wholesale trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories (8.6%), retail trade of motor vehicle parts and accessories (6.5%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
18%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 32%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • discusses customer’s requirements, advises on most appropriate vehicle, explains its features and arranges test drive
  • negotiates sale price including any ‘trade-in’ and extra accessories, works out finance arrangements and completes sales paperwork
  • carries out pre-delivery inspection and formal hand-over of vehicle to customer
  • updates stock record, orders new vehicles from manufacturer, buys in used cars
  • receives orders for parts by phone, email or in person and checks availability on stock record
  • obtains parts from store or orders from suppliers
  • organises delivery of parts and handles payment
  • orders new supplies, arranges storage and updates stock records

Skills

  • identify customer's needs
  • provide customer follow-up services
  • use different communication channels
  • perform multiple tasks at the same time
  • process payments
  • achieve sales targets
  • assist customers
  • carry out active selling
  • carry out order intake
  • demonstrate products' features
  • examine merchandise
  • guarantee customer satisfaction
  • have computer literacy
  • issue sales invoices

Knowledge

  • teamwork principles
  • characteristics of products
  • characteristics of services
  • company policies
  • product comprehension
  • car controls
  • e-commerce systems

Suits people who like

  • Leading and persuading
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for sales occupations, a group of 13 jobs that includes vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 255,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035671,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.