Car engines are literally powering the growth of these servicing startups

Thanks to a new breed of startups, it is now possible to get your vehicle serviced with just one tap of your finger.

As car sales in India grow at a fast clip, there is an ever-increasing demand for hassle-free, good-quality servicing. Riding on the growing demand, Indian startups have started to tap this niche market, with many online car service providers trying to get a slice.

The automotive aftersales market is a whopping $10 billion to $12 billion, and around 70 percent of it is unorganised, which gives startups a good opportunity to make a mark.

Thanks to these startups, getting your car serviced is no longer a task. Here are seven startups going full throttle providing high-quality servicing for your car:

Pitstop

Owned and operated by Chatpay Commerce Private Ltd, this multi-brand car service aggregator offers customers the option to book a servicing on its website. The services that Pitstop offers include regular service, mechanical and electrical repair, body repair, doorstep inspection, tyre puncture, denting and painting, and even accident cases.

The Bengaluru-based car service aggregator recently raised $1.6 million (Rs 10.6 crore) in a pre-Series A round of funding from existing investors led by Singapore-based Goldbell Group and Blume Ventures.

The cost of services depends on the type of service and brand of car. For a general servicing, prices vary between Rs 3000 for a Maruti Suzuki Alto to Rs 4,810 for a Volkswagen Polo.

It currently offers its services in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR. Pitstop works with over 150 garages and workshops. The Bengaluru-based company offers general repair and maintenance services for cars through its doorstep service vehicles.

GarageOnRoad

Noida-based GarageOnRoad started operations in Jan 2017, and has 1250+ mechanics registered with it and its key offering is road-side assistance, and air conditioning repair and maintenance. The company offers servicing for all cars and motorbikes.

It is planning to soon enter the on-demand doorstep segment, which means the company will pick up and drop a vehicle for servicing in the NCR region soon. The aggregator charges Rs 50 as a booking fee for road side assistance from users, who are free to negotiate and settle charges for services with mechanics and garages. The firm has also tied up with authorised service centres.

Vehito

Bengaluru-based Vehito, run by SunwizTech, helps car owners get their vehicles fixed and maintained with original parts even from non-authorised garages and service centres.

The company is working with over 300 garages and had, early last year, raised a seed round of approximately $200,000 from Srinivasan V, Co-founder, Zaikenn. Vehito offers software-as-a-service solutions to multi-brand garages and service stations to source OEM spares and products along with online job card creation, and built-in inventory management.

Automovill

Automovill is an aggregator of car service providers with asset-light operations. It also works as a custodian of customers’ cars, supervising the service and repair work. The startup was founded by engineers from the North East and secured an investment commitment of Rs 1.8 crore in December 2017 as seed funding from NVCL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited. Automovill also received grant-in-aid of Rs 47.6 lakh from Numaligarh Refinery Limited, a BPCL company.

The firm claims it charges 30 percent less than authorised service centres and the revenue sharing is based on the work done on the vehicle, and discounts Automovill manages to get through its vendors.

Koovers

At one end are low-cost garages with little or no credibility, and at the other are those who have noted quality but are expensive. Koovers tries to bring the best of both worlds by providing cost-effective, high-quality service. Recently, Hella India Lightning Ltd (Part of Hella group that develops and manufactures lighting technology and electronic components and systems for the automotive industry) and Koovers announced a partnership to solve garages’ challenge of spare parts availability on a real time basis.

The company has a subscription-based membership model – Koover car club – that gives car owners conveniences and benefits like accident insurance of Rs 1 lakh, towing service for a year, and 10 percent discount on accessories, etc. It offers post-warranty car owners a one-stop affordable solution, from a network of curated garages. It also help car service centres improve their service quality through technology, parts supply, marketing and service additions. 

GoMechanic

Gurgaon-based automotive service startup GoMechanic is a branded network of car service workshops with a presence in Delhi NCR and Mumbai. GoMechanic services can be booked through the website, app or a central customer care number.

Customers can opt for free car pick up and drop service or book an appointment and drive to the GoMechanic workshop. GoMechanic claims customers save more than 40 percent on their service and repair costs as compared with an Authorised Service Centre. This is primarily due to centralised procurement and supply of spare parts and saving on labour costs. Backed by marquee investors such as Orios Ventures Partners, Syed Safawi (former MD and CEO of VLCC) and other angels, GoMechanic services more than 3500 cars a month across its 30+ workshops.

A brainchild of two IIM-A graduates, Amit Bhasin and Kushal Karwa, GoMechanic was started in April 2016. It has a corporate tie-up with Mobil Lubricants. The company is also the official partner of Uber in the NCR.

Carcrew

This online car service provider is a technology platform for after-sales services and spares of automobiles. The startup offers end-to-end maintenance service and recently bought Delhi-based ClickGarage in a stock and cash deal.

The startup is an end to end service provider. It provides service through its 500+ network partners and manages the entire process from car pick to drop. The company has also partnered with a number of taxi and leasing firms where the company helps them in servicing the vehicles across Mumbai, Pune and Delhi.