'Zero Scratch' Touchless Car Wash Industry... Come In Wash and Autostay Experience Growing Pains

The customer base that previously used mechanical brush car washes at gas stations is rapidly shifting toward 'brushless (touchless) car washes'. The background to this is that as the prices of both domestic and imported cars continue to rise, there is a surging demand from drivers who find expensive hand car wash fees burdensome but want to minimize scratches and impacts on their vehicle's paintwork.

In addition, since COVID-19, a non-face-to-face consumption culture that eliminates the need to interact with staff has spread, and the convenience of finishing a car wash in just 3 to 5 minutes has emerged as an attractive alternative for busy modern people. Recently, as the hobby culture of 'detailing'—washing cars oneself—takes root in an era of high inflation, touchless car washes, which pose less risk of damaging the paintwork, have received great responses from beginners, causing the market to grow rapidly.

The oil refining industry, which has seen profits from traditional gasoline and diesel sales shrink due to the spread of eco-friendly vehicles and high oil prices, is also making aggressive investments in the touchless car wash market to diversify its revenue. Amidst this market expansion, we looked into the current status of two representative companies widely known in Seoul, 'Come In Wash' and 'Autostay'.

'Overwhelming No. 1' Come In Wash: Acquired by JKL Partners at a 100 Billion Won Valuation... First Negative Growth in 2024

Come In Wash is the undisputed No. 1 brushless car wash company in Korea. Instead of the traditional brush method, it eliminated the risk of scratches by spraying 360-degree rotating high-pressure water and an exclusive detergent (Twinkle Bubble Foam) through independent nozzles, and received favorable reviews for its underbody wash that removes calcium chloride in the winter and its 24-hour hot water car wash system. Based on this technological prowess, it signed a business agreement with HD Hyundai Oilbank and significantly raised its brand awareness by massively installing car wash machines at directly managed gas stations.

Recently, it has also generated outstanding results. In 2025, JKL Partners, a private equity fund manager, acquired management rights of Come In Wash at a corporate valuation of 100 billion won (purchasing an 80% stake for 80 billion won), drawing market attention.

Its performance was also explosive. Starting with 140 million won in revenue in 2019, it surpassed the 10 billion won revenue mark at once in 2021 by generating 11.2 billion won in revenue and 1.7 billion won in operating profit. Following that, in 2023, it recorded 28.4 billion won in revenue and 6.5 billion won in operating profit, easily surpassing the 20 billion won mark. However, its triumphant momentum has stalled, recording 26 billion won in revenue and an operating loss of -1.8 billion won in 2024, marking its first decline and transition to a deficit.

Nevertheless, outward growth continues. The number of stores, which was 125 in 2023, increased to 186 (149 franchise stores, 37 directly managed stores) as of the end of 2024. What is particularly noteworthy is that there were only 3 contract terminations throughout 2023 and 2024. The industry analyzes that this is because the initial startup costs and equipment prices for a touchless car wash are so high that it is difficult to easily close once started. In fact, Come In Wash's franchise fee is around 11 million won, but a whopping approximately 760 million won of initial capital is required for other facility and equipment costs.

Autostay Chosen by SK: Targeting Enthusiasts with a Subscription Model... Massive Startup Costs and Chronic Deficits Remain as Homework

Autostay is a company shaking up the market by introducing the industry's first 'subscription-based automatic car wash service', allowing daily car washes for a subscription fee of about 38,500 won per month. Equipped with reservations via a smartphone app, an automatic license plate recognition system, and freeze-prevention facilities for the winter, it is well-received among car wash enthusiasts.

Seeing this potential, SK Innovation's subsidiary SK Energy executed a strategic investment of about 13 billion won in Autostay in 2022. The estimated corporate valuation at the time reached the high 30 billion won range.

However, improving profitability is Autostay's fatal weakness. Its revenue, starting at 470 million won in 2020, steadily increased to 5 billion won in 2021 and 6.7 billion won in 2022, but its profit structure remains weak. Except for the single year of 2021 (+450 million won), operating profit was consistently in deficit from 2019 to 2024, and in 2024, it suffered a massive operating loss of -4.3 billion won against a revenue of 6.4 billion won.

The number of stores is also increasing from 4 in 2022 to 11 in 2023, and 20 in 2024 (16 franchise stores, 4 directly managed stores), but it is relatively inferior compared to the frontrunner, Come In Wash. What is even more painful is the high barrier to entry for startups. Autostay's franchise fee is also similar to Come In Wash's, but it requires a massive investment of about 1.4 billion won for other incidental costs. Due to the low-profit structure of the subscription service relative to the high investment costs, the fact that franchises may struggle to survive without securing a stable customer base on a large scale is pointed out as a stumbling block to market expansion.

Common Growth Stagnation in the Touchless Car Wash Industry in 2024... How Will Fortunes Diverge in 2025?

As a result, both Come In Wash and Autostay faced 'catching their breath' or 'growing pains' as their performance growth faltered in 2024. This phenomenon is appearing across the entire industry. Another major touchless car wash company, DK Wash, also experienced rapid growth from 3.3 billion won in 2022 to 8 billion won in 2023, but stumbled as its revenue fell to 6.5 billion won in 2024.

With representative touchless car wash companies commonly experiencing stagnant growth in 2024, whether this trend will continue in 2025 is of paramount interest to the industry. In particular, if the performances of representative touchless (brushless) car wash companies such as Come In Wash, Autostay, and DK Wash continue their downward trend in 2025, this may not be a simple growing pain for individual companies but a structural problem of the touchless car wash industry itself. Accordingly, the market is watching the 2025 performance of these companies more closely than ever.

At this critical crossroads, the future fortunes of performances are expected to sharply diverge depending on the breakthrough measures each company presents, such as creating synergy with the oil refining industry or entering the global market. Attention is drawn to what kind of breakthroughs each company will devise and who will emerge as the ultimate winner in the paradigm shift of car washing.