Express car washes are buzzing with future growth prospects. These car washes are fully automated, and therefore do not require as much labor costs. Express car washes also provide guaranteed traffic to a shopping center site, and the majority of these brands offer monthly or annual membership packages; repeat visitors are an added plus for a landlord. These express car wash brands prefer family-friendly suburban locales, as commuting by car is always the norm in these neighborhoods, regardless of any hikes in gas prices. Busy retail street fronts and regional center pads are ideal sites for these express car wash brands. Preferred co-tenants include those that attract automobile-driving customers, including oil change or tire companies, gas stations, pharmacies, convenience stores, grocery marts and drive-thru food tenants.
Hot markets seeing a large number of car wash acquisitions and new car wash builds include mid-sized cities in the West, Midwest and South that experienced a population uptick during the pandemic. Expect Driven Brands Car Wash, LUV Car Wash, Tommy’s Express, Quick Quack Car Wash, ModWash and Zips Car Wash to all have healthy real estate expansion projections over the next two to three years.
Driven Brands Car Wash continues to dominate car wash acquisitions and new builds, and it’s maintaining its trajectory of opening approximately 100 new units per year over the next two years. Future acquisitions will be especially strong in the Midwest, notably throughout Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, as well as in Colorado. Continued growth will also continue to occur in markets where Driven already has a strong presence in the South and the Southeast, which includes Dallas/Fort Worth, New Orleans, Little Rock, Ark., and all of the regions of Florida. A new EVP/president was named late last year and is determined to continue to grow the Driven Brands’ portfolio of car washes, as these have proven to be profitable for the company.
Driven Brands has six different car wash chains it operates under: Take 5 Car Wash, Supersonic Car Wash, Goo-Goo Car Wash, Car Wash USA Express, Racer Classic Car Wash and Frank’s Car Wash. Ideal sites should be in the .60- to one-acre range. Locations need to have high traffic counts, be in densely populated areas, be close to retail and have great ingress and egress. There should not be a competing car wash brand within three miles of a site. Driven Brands prefers that sites for acquisition or new builds be in states where it already has a presence.
This year, Driven Brands will ramp up new builds of a concept that combines its Take 5 Oil Change brand with Take 5 Car Wash, dubbed Take Oil Change and Car Wash. The first new build popped in Edinburgh, Texas, in April, and at least 10 more are expected throughout the Midwest and the South, within the states of Arkansas, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana and Wisconsin. The concept fits in well with the post-pandemic crowd, as it emphasizes fast service, in a 10-minute frame, in which the customers can remain in their cars. Expect to see more of these dual-brand concepts from Driven Brands in the future, as the company continues to test out new auto service trends for its customers.
Expect LUV Car Wash to be opening approximately 100 new units per year over the next two years, via new builds and acquisitions of smaller car wash brands. LUV is especially focused on further expanding throughout Southern California, including San Diego, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, and in Northern California’s Bay Area, specifically in Sonoma and Napa. The Southeast regions of Florida and Georgia are also targeted for growth, especially the northern Atlantic areas of Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Fla., Savannah, Ga., and Atlanta. Las Vegas is another market expected to see further growth.
LUV is keen on establishing its brand in smaller communities outside of major metros before expanding further into the more populated cities. LUV also looks to acquire older car wash brands in need of major improvements. LUV Car Wash is a fairly new brand that debuted in September 2021, with Susquehanna Private Capital as a partner assisting with funding. Preferred sites should be on or near a major traffic thoroughfare and be close to drive-thru dining establishments, such as Wendy’s.
Over the next four to five years, Tommy’s Express franchise expects to open between 75 and 100 new units per year. Growth will continue to be strong in all regions of the country, with new development especially focused on Riverside County, Calif., Las Vegas, Chicago, all regions of Texas, Colorado Springs, Colo., Baltimore, Oklahoma City, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Charlotte, N.C. Preferred spaces for its 5,000-s.f. buildings are parcels in regional centers in secondary and tertiary suburban communities. Co-tenants sought after include regional grocery brands, such as Wegmans, and food tenants, such as Taco Bell. Locations should be in close proximity to auto parts stores and gas stations. The brand is also open to rebuilding old standalone structures, such as former bank buildings. Tommy’s Express is known for its identifiable bright red modern exterior appearance, as well as its quick-service car washes.
Quick Quack Car Wash has been expanding at a pace of about 50 to 60 new units per year and expects to continue that trajectory over the next two years. Growth will continue in the five Western states that it currently has a presence: California, Texas, Utah, Arizona and Colorado. Specific markets targeted in the immediate future include Orange County, Calif., Colorado Springs, Colo., Phoenix, the cities between Salt Lake City and Provo, Utah, and the suburbs surrounding both Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas. The brand has hinted at future expansion into neighboring states, such as Nevada, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma or even Idaho. Quick Quack looks for standalone pads in the .75- to 1.2-acre range, preferably corner lots. Space can be in grocery-anchored retail centers with car-related service co-tenants, such as Jiffy Lube, or other drive-thru tenants, including banks with drive-up ATMs, such as Wells Fargo. Quick Quack offers affordably priced drive-thru car washes that can clean a car’s exterior in just three minutes.
ModWash has amped up its expansion goals, foreseeing opening between 35 and 40 new units by the end of this year and opening up to 120 units in 2023. The brand has its sights on expanding primarily into the Eastern U.S., as well as into some Southwestern regions, especially in New Mexico. Expansion will be especially strong in growing rural and suburban communities throughout Florida, Georgia, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and Delaware. ModWash prefers to purchase space or acquire other mom-and-pop car wash brands. Ideal sites should be on three- to 3.5-acre spaces on busy retail streets, with traffic counts that average up to 65,000 cars per day. Preferred spaces should be corner lots near family friendly discount-oriented brands such as Walmart, 99 Cents Only Stores and ALDI. ModWash has benefitted with its expansion plans because of its development partner, Hutton, as well as through the promotion of its COO in April to chief development officer. The ModWash brand has developed an express car wash system that can completely wash a car within three minutes.
Zips Car Wash expects to continue expanding at a rate of about 20 to 30 new units per year over the next eight years, primarily through acquisitions. Areas targeted for immediate growth include the surrounding regions of Louisville, Ky., especially throughout Indiana, a state in which Zips acquired its first car wash in June, with the acquisition of the Jasper Express Car Wash in Jasper, Ind. Also look for immediate expansion into northern Georgia, especially the Atlanta metro region, as well as Greenfield, S.C., in addition to growing communities in Minnesota, Utah and Idaho, and areas around Dallas/Fort Worth. Ideal sites are in mid-sized suburban cities up to 30 miles outside of major metros. Zips prefers corner outparcel lot spaces in regional centers, between one and four acres. Space can be on a non-corner site if it is next to an exit lane from the shopping center. Preferred retail co-tenants include high-volume restaurants, such as Chick-fil-A, and convenience stores near gas stations, such as 7-Eleven. There should not be a competing conveyor car wash within three miles of a potential site. The population should be 35,000 within a three-mile radius and there should be more than 25,000 cars per day. Zips hired a new chief development officer last summer, with the expectation that continued growth is on the horizon. Zips expects to benefit from its Unlimited Wash Club membership deals that can be used at any location, in any state.
