Mercedes-Benz vehicles have seen over half a million recalls in 2019 to make up over one-fifth of the total car market, according to research.
The German brand’s 504,047 recalls exceeded last year’s total where just 476,788 were called back for repairs.
2019 marks the first year that Mercedes has topped the list of car recalls.
The carmaker did however end the year inside the top four in 2014, 2017 and 2018.
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The statistics also reveal Vauxhall is the most recalled vehicle over the past five years with over 1.63 million recalls since 2014.
The British manufacturer had the highest number of recalls in both 2016 and 2017 but has been taken off the top spot by German car companies since.
BMW topped the list in 2018 after suffering 918, 066 recalls in one year due to a fault with a connection between the battery and the fuse box.
BMW was also revealed as the second most recalled car over the past five years after recording 1.6 million since 2014.
Recalls on the rise
Using DVSA data to study car recall rates, the research also revealed the number of total recalls was five times higher than the same rate in 2014.
Half a decade ago just 725,398 cars were recalled for urgent repairs but this figure considerably jumped to just under 2.5 million in 2019.
Finance Group, Know Your Money suggests the increase could reflect rising manufacture caution and tighter recall regulations.
John Ellmore director of Know Your Money said: “Somewhat surprisingly, we discovered that the most reliable cars are not always luxury cars.
“Instead, consumers might consider buying economy cars, if they value greater reliability.
“Our data also uncovered the fact that the safest cars tend to be manufactured in the Far East.”
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