Renault has knocked Lexus from its perch at the top of the Auto Express Driver Power dealer satisfaction chart for the first time.

Lexus had topped the survey for each of the previous 14 years, but Renault and its Dacia sub-brand demoted Toyota's luxury arm to third place.

Driver Power takes place annually, and this year surveyed more than 38,000 people across 31 different brands.

Renault jumped 12 places compared with last year's result, having improved in all areas, but top scores for helpfulness and attitude saw the French manufacturer beat its Romanian partner to the top spot.

Paul Flanagan, Renault UK's managing director, said: 'These outstanding results for Renault and Dacia demonstrate the quality and reliability of our vehicles and the efforts that the Renault and Dacia dealer network has put into delivering exceptional customer service, as well as reaffirming our commitment to customer experience throughout the entire ownership cycle of all of our cars.

'We are delighted that our own customers have rated Renault best of all manufacturers and Dacia in second place overall, and we will aim to innovate and improve our levels of customer satisfaction even further in the years ahead.'

Brian Walters, director of research and insight at Driver Power, added: 'Renault now leads the industry with respect to the helpfulness and attitude of its dealership personnel. In fact, Renault is among the top three brands in all six of the Driver Power dealer attributes.'