The car wash sector had a difficult start to the year
Up to and including April this year, the total wash volume was 8.7 per cent lower than in the same period a year earlier. This is according to the performance benchmark developed by data provider Heights AI in collaboration with the trade publication CarwashPro, based on data from around fifty to one hundred chain car washes.
The Carwash Performance Benchmark, an initiative by data provider Heights AI and trade magazine CarwashPro, was officially launched last month during a webinar. During the webinar, Heights AI founders Pascal Golec and Wilfred de Graaf presented the benchmark, which will now be published quarterly. “Many car wash owners wonder to what extent their results are down to general market conditions and to what extent they are down to their own performance. This benchmark answers that question and highlights the strengths as well as where revenue might be leaking,” said De Graaf.
Among other things, the benchmark compares the first few months of 2026 with the first few months of 2025. It focuses not on turnover, but on the number of washes. “For business owners, turnover is often the most important factor, but the number of washes provides a better overview of the market,” says Golec.
A tough start
The conclusion regarding the first four months is clear: the market had a tough time. Up to and including April, the total wash volume was 8.7 per cent lower than in the same period a year earlier. January and March were particularly difficult months. “January ended 18.4 per cent lower than in 2025, partly because we had snow during the first two weeks of the year, leading to temporary closures,” explains Golec. “Our data shows that later in the month, some customers returned for what we call ‘catch-up washes’, but that the resulting shortfall was not fully made up.”
Petrol price shock
February also lagged behind, with a fall of 11.4 per cent compared with the previous year. March was the worst month so far: the number of washes was 25.8 per cent lower than in March 2025. “The petrol price shock following the outbreak of war in the Middle East played a part in this, when prices at the pump rose sharply. Of the total decline, 4.6 percentage points can be attributed to higher fuel prices.” Heights AI is able to provide such quantitative explanations because it has built an AI model that can predict which variable contributes to the washing volume and to what extent.
Catch-up in April
In April, however, the picture was completely reversed. Washing volume that month was 26.2 per cent higher than in April 2025. This was due both to better weather and to a clear catch-up effect: many motorists had postponed their car washes and only returned in April.
The comparison with 2025 makes the decline in 2026 all the more apparent, as that year turned out, in hindsight, to be exceptionally good for the sector. Over the whole of 2025, the number of washes grew by 13.5 per cent compared with 2024. “The weather was primarily responsible for this. The combination of a weak February in 2024 and exceptionally favourable conditions in the spring of 2025 led to a significant number of extra washes. Nevertheless, the figure could have been even higher in 2025. We saw a decline in consumer confidence that year, which led to a fall of around 4 per cent in the number of washes.”
Winning back customers
A striking insight from the data is that the best-performing car washes are less dependent on weather conditions than weaker locations. “At top locations, volumes do rise when the weather is favourable, but they fall less sharply during periods of bad weather. This points to stronger customer loyalty and more stable demand. We see significant differences between businesses. Some locations grew by more than 22 percentage points faster than others in 2025. This difference is not so much caused by local competition, but mainly by customer behaviour.”
Furthermore, the benchmark shows that subscriptions increase the so-called ‘customer lifetime value’ (the total value a customer generates over the course of their entire relationship with a company) by three to four times.
A second webinar will take place on Wednesday 15 July at 10.00 am, focusing on the state of the Dutch car wash market in Q2 2026 and the strategic choices that make a difference. Topics to be discussed include the impact of subscriptions and wash passes on turnover, geographical differences in performance, and the role of marketing in car wash performance. Registration for the webinar is free and can be done via this link.
This article appeared in Mobility Energy 5-2025. Would you like to view the entire issue?Click here.
Read also:
- Carwashpro.nl and Heights AI launch benchmarking sessions
- Customer behaviour at the car wash: the role of weather and timing
- ‘Data-driven personalisation is gaining a foothold in the car wash sector’
