Introduction

It has surveyed motorists regarding their car washing behaviour, preferences and service satisfaction. Specifically the study reveals how frequently motorists wash their car, the channels used and the popularity of each. It also assesses what is important to motorists when they are selecting how to wash their car and measures how different wash types perform in meeting their expectations.

Scope

• Frequency of car washing by different methods including service station auto washes, standalone washes, hand car washing at home or by a third party.

• The relative importance of different car wash features such as location, value for money, speed, wash quality and care of vehicle exterior.

• An assessment of customer car washing behaviour and preferences segmented by gender, income, age, distance travelled and region.

• Insight into the car washing methods and most popular brands used as well as the performance of different types of wash against customer expectations.

Highlights

In considering the number of times each wash type has been used in the last year we can see its share of total washes. Hand car washing is most popular followed by automatic washes at service stations.

A greater proportion of male motorists than female motorists use standalone, independently opeated washes. 18% of males use standalone automatic washes as their main wash type compared with 13% of females. Similarly, 5% of male motorists use a standalone jet wash as their main wash type, compared with 2% of females.

Respondents were asked to assess their experience of different wash types against eight competencies including speed of wash, care of vehicle and value for money. Despite only being the third most popular choice of car washing methods, standalone automatic washes are rated highest on all criteria.

Reasons to Purchase

• Make informed car wash and marketing investments by identifying what is most important to motorists when selecting how to wash their vehicle

• Improve customer targeting by uncovering the characteristics of those that elect to use different car washing methods

• Measure the relative performance of your type of car wash installation in meeting the expectations of motorists