Car Wash Business Plan
Car Wash Business Plan
Car Wash Business Plan Introduction
This is a Car Wash Business Plan to the standard car wash business.
We define the standard car wash business as the stand alone car washes found in urban neighborhoods. This is as opposed to automated car washes business , car salons and car washes which are part of big bars. However we touch on each of these .
Car Wash Business Plan Quick Static
According to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) Between January and June 2014 the number of new vehicles registered was 89728. The lowest number was in April at 12,789 and the highest in February at 17,779. The average is 14, 956 per month. See the table in the appendix for breakdown by type of vehicle.
Trends in the Car Wash Business
Automatic Car Washing Business
Since 2011 there has been a slow but steady growth in automatic car wash services. The major advantage of the automatic car wash is speed. Within 15 minutes or so the body of the car is washed and clean. The services have not gone gained mass traction yet, though they are gradually becoming popular.
From the point of the entrepreneur automated car washes systems are capital intensive; at least Kshs. 5M (though cheaper models are increasingly available). There are fears of losses in case of breakdown if spare parts and support skills are not easily available.
Some entrepreneurs are also skeptical whether motorists would convert from the traditional car washing habits to the instant automated car wash. Others cite the lack of many ideal spaces in terms of location and rent to set up such car washes as the reason they are hesitant to invest in the Automatic Car Wash Business .
On the other hand consumers reluctant to use automated car washes have talked of ‘awkward’ locations of the automated Car Wash Businesses . Some quote unsubstantiated information they have heard that automatic car washes scratch the cars, damage the paint and can dent the bodies of weaker cars because of high water pressure and faulty dirty brushes. They also don’t wash interiors.
The major automatic car wash services in Nairobi are Eclipse Car Salon, at the Nairobi Safari Club annex along Koinange Street ( where Kengeles is located), and a Geco in Lavington. Geco is extremely popular with a sizeable number of motorists coming from all parts of the city to have their car washed there.
If speed is combined with unique quality service then an automated car business will attract customers who are willing to pay a premium. There is market and potential for automated car wash systems in an area with big enough numbers of the right kind of customers to sustain the business. The right kind is not just about income or the cars they drive but a more open mind to embrace such disruptions. (Automated car washes are the subject of another full research)
Car Washing as a Social Event
Nowadays there are car washes that try to differentiate in the market by making car wash moments social outings. Unlike the traditional setting where say a bar is set up and a car wash included as an extra, in this case the car wash starts as the core business, and then extras such as bar are added.
Download Car Wash Business Plan / guide here