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If both car servicing & cleaning and car care accessories are taken into the account, the present market size of Indian car care is around Rs 12,000 crore. The car detailing market accounts for Rs 500 crore. “The segment is poised to grow in the coming years with awareness about car care rising beyond wax and oil,” says Vishesh Nigam, Business Manager – 3M Car Care Division.[/box]
The Indian Expanding car care market is fragmented. There is not much awareness about the car detailing. The consumer behavior is also not very defined. “The consumers are unable to imagine the benefit car care can give to their cars. Some of the luxury brand owners are not paying much attention to car detailing while some of the entry level car owners spend huge amount on it. However, the retail sector in our Country is not fully developed. In China you have 14sqft of retail space per capita; in India it is only 2sqft. 65% of the country’s population is below 35 years of age. As the per capita income is going up, brand consciousness too is increasing. Hence putting global slowdown aside, there are ample of scope for growth in the long run Substantial business can be generated with right kind of market penetration.
3M Protection
We protect the car in various ways. We have products which protect the scratches. There are paint production films, which covers the various parts of the car. There is interior germ clean treatment. This keeps the germs away from AC duct and other interior parts. For the decorative space, wraps are available in 72 shapes… For under body also, bodysuits are available that prevent the car from erosion, insulates the under body coating.
3M Mobile Car Care
Recently, as part of pilot project, we launched two 3M Mobile Car Care vehicles one in Chennai and another in Bangalore. Depending on the response, we will start scaling up the project. It will be based on auto dealership franchise model.”
R&D
R&D is an inherent part of 3M products. The company invests millions of dollars behind the development of its products ensuring they are ecofriendly. We have an Innovation Lab in the Electronic City, Bangalore which is one of the biggest innovation centers in its segment. The germ clean product was developed after four years of R&D here and is a “Made in India; Made for India” product. It’s now a widely done treatment across India. This is how we differentiate our products from others. Environmentally, we have recently launched Dry Wash which is 80% biodegradable using only half a liter of water to clean a car. The product has been approved by Toyota too.
