Canada’s car wash operations can attract more customers with environmental focus
The Canadian Car Wash Association (CCA) began the new year with the first of its webinar education and seminar series by looking at the state of the car wash market and using water reclamation systems to attract customers.
Russ Blanko, president of Pointblanc Agencies Ltd., began by noting that Canada’s car wash industry generated some $1.4 billion in revenue in 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.7%, and employing some 19,051 persons in 3,730 operations across Canada.
While 2024 had various economic challenges for car wash operators, revenues remained strong with a 7.7% revenue jump in 2024, Blanko added.
When broken down regionally, Ontario has the highest concentration of car wash operations and has seen steady growth in the number of car washes and auto detailing services Quebec follows a close second with its large population driving both the number and growth of operations.
Blanko added that all the remaining provinces are showing healthy industry growth with more consumers demanding a higher level of wash service.
“Higher income [vehicle buyers] represent the largest consumer market for the car wash and detailing service market today,” Blanco continued. “We tend to see more new car wash operations coming with other services such as auto detailing, oil changes and other services to attract these customers.”
READ: When it comes to operating a car wash, rules and safety matter
One which is attracting consumers more is a concern for the environment. For example, British Columbia has a growing number of car washes with many focusing on how they work to reduce their environmental impact, both to meet provincial environmental regulations when it come to water usage and wastewater, but to satisfy consumer concerns over the environment.
Ryan Montgomery, business development, with Vortex CHC, said today’s water reclamation technologies can help a car wash operation reduce its water usage by in some cases up to 90%, and help significantly reduce the amount of contaminates and other waste from entering municipal water systems or being reused by the car wash operation.
A typical car wash operation in Canada uses up to 304 million gallons of water for car washes per day with between 38-50+ gallons of water used each time when a single car is washed.
“Today’s advanced filtration and closed-loop systems are capable today of removing contaminates as small as five microns,” Montgomery said. “This results in a high quality of reclaimed water which is suitable for various parts of a car wash process. And when part of a closed-loop system they can help recycle some 100% of the wash water which means zero discharge minimizing water loss. Such systems are highly efficient and very environmentally friendly.”
Over the past decade, there have been significant advancements in water reclamation systems for car washes, offering plenty of options for Canadian car wash operations to integrate into their operations.
