Car wash prices rise

The Beijing government has found that more than 90 percent of car washes plan to raise their prices as a result of a price hike in water affecting the businesses, the Beijing Daily reported.

Since May 2014, the price of water for car washes has more than doubled from 61.68 yuan per cubic meter to 160 yuan per cubic meter.

According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, just eight out of 82 car washes said they would keep prices the same. The average price of washing a car in Beijing is 30 yuan. An official from the commission said that because the new cost of water to wash a car is lower than 3.2 yuan, there is still a high profit margin for car wash owners who did not hike their prices.