The car washing business is still at a nascent stage in India, but the country is not far from becoming a booming market for the car wash. In India, the car market is growing 10% annually and is estimated to have the highest number of cars by 2025. Thus, predicting a profitable future for car washing market.
With busy schedules and rising disposable income, car owners now prefer a professional car wash. The car wash industry is witnessing exponential growth with the increasing sale of passenger cars and demand for organised car wash outlets.
This unique business concept has fascinated a few entrepreneurs to enter this industry and capitalise on this highly in-demand business. Many of the organised players are also taking the franchise route for expansion and the industry is emerging as a profitable venture.
The Evolution of the Car Washing Industry
In a typical Indian scenario, one can imagine a cleaner boy taking a bucket full of detergent-water solution and a small cloth, washing all the interiors and exteriors of the cars with the same rag. However, the typical Indian car washing was never a perfect way of car washing.
A car is considered as one of the most luxurious assets in a household, and it had always been washed the wrong way. A list of high-end machines such as high-pressure cleaning machines, spray extraction machines, high powered vacuum cleaners, and steam cleaners, etc. are used in a professional car wash industry and it was an unknown phenomenon in the Indian scenario. This created a niche in the Indian car wash market and made entrepreneurs foray into an organised market for a car wash.
Factors contributing to the emergence of Car Wash Franchise
In India, car wash franchising is gaining ground and will offer a lucrative business opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs. Some of the major factors contributing to its emergence are:
1. Changing lifestyles, changing preferences, growing income levels, societal trends and busy schedules are the key drivers of this new franchise concept.
2. The key contributors to the emergence of the car wash franchise are the easy availability of car loans coupled with the rising potential for purchasing cars.
3. The dependency on cars for daily travel has led to increasing numbers of cars on Indian roads and in turn creating demand for frequent servicing of the cars.
4. The rising number of consumers are turning to professional car washing as the car wash businesses offer complete car servicing, from external washing to interior maintenance.
Low investment business opportunity
According to reports, there’s a huge demand for organised car wash outlets as existing outlets have been able to cater to not even 1% of the total running cars in India. This has created avenues for entrepreneurs to opt for the franchise route for expansion so that they could fill in the void and make revenue.
Car wash franchising is a concept with promising returns. And if you have the inclination towards the service industry and passion for cars, then this can be an ideal business proposition for you.
Starting a car wash franchise requires less investment in comparison to starting your own business. The initial investment required for a car wash franchise may start from as low as Rs 10 lakh and can range up to Rs 50 lakh. A minimum of 1000 sq ft area ranging up to 5000 sq ft is required to start your own car washing business. The return on investment is quite high; it may even reach 100% within the payback period of 1-2 years.
Being a low-investment opportunity itself and combined with a cost-effective business model like franchising, the car wash market becomes a lucrative opportunity for entrepreneurs.
