MISTER CAR WASH INC
Commented by Nico Popp on January 19th, 2026 | 07:15 CET
The Netflix of car washing: How Mister Car Wash is reinventing the market, and WashTec is sounding the charge against Dover
The North American vehicle care market is currently undergoing a development that, in its radical consequences, is reminiscent of the transformation of the software industry ten years ago. The old model of weather-dependent individual car washes, where revenue falls when it rains, is being replaced by the predictable profitability of the "subscription economy." This trend is being driven by the phenomenal success of the US chain Mister Car Wash, which has proven that Americans are willing to sign up for a monthly subscription for clean cars, similar to streaming services. But this gold rush is putting massive technological pressure on gas station operators and independent car washes. They have to upgrade to stay competitive. In this battle for infrastructure supremacy, German hidden champion WashTec is now challenging US market leader Dover Corporation on its home turf. The Augsburg-based company supplies precisely the digital technology that enables the broader market to copy Mister Car Wash's successful model – and could thus shift the balance of power in the industry in the long term.
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