By S. Kenneth Shishir

If a normal car wash can take anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes, it takes just 6 minutes at Star Hyundai. The second authorised dealer in Mysuru for Hyundai Motor India Ltd., Star Hyundai has a fully automated car washing system which washes and dries up a car completely in six minutes flat without human intervention.

Mentioning that it is the first-of-its-kind at car showroom in city, P.V. Jayaram, Managing Director of Star Hyundai Showroom and Service Centre said that the automated car washer will wash a car including its under chassis with water and shampoo besides drying and waxing. And there is no extra cost for this.

He said that the showroom, located on New Sayyaji Rao Road, was opened about one-and-a-half years ago with the service centre located about 300 metres from the showroom. “I was impressed with the facility when I first saw it in Hyderabad. I purchased it for Rs. 20 lakh and got it installed in my service station at Bannimantap,” he said.

Jayaram said that the washer is an end-to-end automatic machine which gives immaculate finish and increased productivity, he added.    

He said that the machine was assembled by ATS ELGI and comes with soft poly-ethylene brushes that clean but do not scratch. It has stainless steel precision nozzles for correct spraying and uses less water. Other features include rugged PLC control system, optimised motor power in dryer which consumes less electricity and telescopic wheel brush system which fully cleans the car.

Speaking about the difference between automatic and manual car washing, he said: “In manual car washing, more manpower is needed and sometimes the cleaner may have left some parts untouched due to oversight. This cannot happen in automatic car washing system. Even the consumption of water is less as the automatic car washer consumes about 80 litres of water per car whereas manual washing requires about 130 litres. Power consumption is also less in automatic car washing system.”

When asked about customer response to the automatic car washer, Jayaram said that there is an overwhelming response where 900 cars including the ones sold by other dealers were serviced at Star Hyundai in one month. Customers can actually view the servicing being done for their satisfaction, he added.

He also said that a treatment plant that converts hard-water to soft-water has been installed at the service station so cars do not have water stain marks.