Car washes, Vehicle care products, Lubricants, Service areas
Car washes, contributing to the green transition
The carwash market is growing steadily in France
Annually sales (€ excluding VAT)
10 000 car washes
7 300
Independent operators
(usually belonging to a brand such as Eléphant Bleu, Kärcher, etc.)
1 200
Washes in supermarket car parks
1 500
Petrol stations
12 500
DIRECT JOBS and just as many indirect jobs such as maintenance and the installation of payment terminals
Figures: Mobilians 2023, INEC 2024
The market also has to cope with constraints
Owing to the goals of preserving water resources (Water Plan 2030, April 2023) and climate change (droughts in 2022 and 2023 (1) meant water supply restrictions and even car wash closures in some departments), existing and new facilities have to be ever more economical with their water.
Consumer survey
IPSOS,november 2023 for Wash France / TotalEnergies
92%
of motorists wash their cars at least once a year
41%
do so at least once a month
8%
never wash
The average wash frequency
Source NGC Data 2024
6 wash times a year
288 million
washing cycles for 42 million cars and 6.5 million light commercial vehicles
Equally split between roller washing and high-pressure jet washing.
However, 35% to 37% of motorists wash their cars at home(2), which is forbidden by law, as it leads to the discharge of wash residues into rainwater, a major factor in pollution. The waste generated by car washes (polluted sludge, particularly hydrocarbons), is treated on site.
The environment is the first big issue for professionals in the sector. One goal is:
• dissuade people from washing at home;
• depollute wash water all year round using appropriate, continuously maintained facilities;
• ensure that their fixtures use as little water as possible by fitting shutters to roller gantries (to prevent water from being dispersed outside) and installing dedicated water reprocessing units.
Specialist equipment manufacturers offer increasingly effective solutions.
(1) Guide circulaire de mise en oeuvre des mesures de restriction des usages de l’eau en période de sécheresse, May 2023. Download at www.mobilians.fr/metier/lavage-haute-pression/nos dossiers/arretes-secheresse
(2) Car washing survey – INEC Institut National de l’Economie Circulaire, 2024, www.institut-economie-circulaire.fr
The lubricant market running smoothly on the existing fleet
The car lubricant market is slowly leaking volume
2023
Market in decline
-2,5%
273 500
tonnes of automotive lubricants marketed in France*,
2024
The trend similar
-2%
Within this market, which includes both cars and commercial vehicles, the ‘car’ segment remained stable over the ten months.
* Source : Centre Professionnel des Lubrifiants
All-make services responsible for 70% of oil changes
This relative resilience of the automotive lubricants market can be attributed
to the state of the vehicle fleet, wich is both expanding and ageing all of which underpins demand for lubricants for oil changes
42,22
million cars
11,9 years
average age
The average mileage driven is also a key factor in 2023, it had returned to pre-Covid levels
14 000 km
diesel cars, down slightly
9 500 km
petrol cars, up
Sales of waste disposal
In terms of maintenance, the high average age of the vehicle fleet works in favour of independent garages and chains.
Car washes, Vehicle care products, Lubricants, Service areas
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