[njarboe]

In the US these "independent shops" are called car dealerships and they sell all of the new cars in the US. Manufacturers don't sell cars directly to customers and this is enforced by law in many states. Tesla is the only company doing it. The independent shops usually sell only one brand of car and their profits come mainly from service not sales. Think of them as sales floors subsidized by the money brought in when the product breaks or need service you can't do your self. Not a feedback loop that is good for customers, I think.

[bluGill]

By independent shops I mean fully independent - no business relationship with the manufacture. Dealers are a mix: they are independently owned, but they get things from the manufacturer that the fully independent shops do not.

The typically model is you take the car to the dealer while it is under warranty and then go to a cheaper shop afterwards. Which means that the dealer gets some maintenance revenue (enough that as you say they are sales floors subsidized by the maintenance shop).

[njarboe]

It would be interesting to know what the total revenue of independent auto repair shops is in comparison to total dealership revenue from repairs. A quick google did not get any good hits for me.