Good for Business, Investments, Latvia, Transport

Over forty car washes will be built all over Latvia in two to three years, which will have a total of 160 to 200 bays, said Iesalnieks. The company’s management expects that up to 20,000 automobiles a day could be washed at the Wash&Drive facilities.

Explaining why a network of self-service car washes, the company's management indicates that there is a rather high demand for such services in Latvia.

"Two in three drivers say that they would like to go to a car wash but are deterred by the thought of long lines and high prices. The network of self-service car washes will offer motorists opportunity to have their car washed in five to seven minutes, and it will cost them just two euros," said Iesalnieks.

The first car wash has opened at the parking lot of "Sky and More" shopping mall on Duntes Street in Riga. The next one will open in Liepaja in May, and another six are being planned. For the network to develop faster, talks are under way in multiple locations across Latvia on opportunities to buy or rent land parcels good for building a car wash there, Iesalnieks told LETA.

There will be Wash&Drive car washes in Riga, Ventspils, Kuldiga, Tukums, Saldus, Jurmala, Jelgava, Dobele, Bauska, ogre, Jekabpils, Daugavpils, Rezekne, Madona, Gulbene, Valmiera, Valka and elsewhere in Latvia.

Wash&Drive is planning to build twenty car washes in Riga. The company is open to talks on buying or renting, for a period of ten years, land plots of 400 to 2,000 square meters in area, preferably in strategic locations – near filling stations, department stores, fast food restaurants, in neighborhoods of the city.

The Wash&Drive car washes use Karcher cleaning equipment. "For the past several years we have witnessed increasing demand for self-service solutions in cleaning cars. Karcher technologies are used extensively in most European countries, but in this particular segment in Latvia, Wash&Drive will be the trailblazer," commented Karcher head in the Baltic countries, Edvinas Guzauskas.

Wash&Drive was established in June 2014, the company's share capital is EUR 4,000. Wash&Drive belongs to Dotcom Enterprises and BTCG (each with 50% of shares). BTCG, in turn, is owned by Iesalnieks (85%) and Sergejs Leibus (15%).