Autorox to gear India’s auto garage system to next level with its tech-rich solutions

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With vehicle sales skyrocketing in India, a parallel challenge for the industry is after sales service. Most of the vehicle owners still depend on dealership attached service centres as the independent garage network is yet to take-off in full swing in India. Here’s where Autorox comes into picture as it offers solution to strengthen independent garage system with their tech-rich solutions. Vijay Gummadi, Founder of Autorox, speaks to Automotive Lead’s Editor Jaishankar Jayaramiah about the company’s service and future plans of strengthening the garage industry.

Excerpts:-

Can you brief the mindset of Indian vehicle owners when they service their vehicles?

Indian vehicle owners continue to place a high level of trust in dealership-authorized service centres. This preference is largely driven by concerns around transparency, consistency, and quality assurance. Much of the independent garage ecosystem remains fragmented and unorganized. In more mature automotive markets, over 70% of vehicle owners rely on independent workshops for servicing and repairs. In India, however, that figure remains below 50%, highlighting the significant trust gap that still exists within the aftermarket sector.

How can Autorox address this trend and pull the customers towards independent workshops?

Autorox is helping independent workshops bridge that trust gap by equipping them with dealership-grade digital capabilities. Our Garage Management System (GMS) digitizes key workshop operations, including job cards, inventory management, billing, customer communication, and follow-ups. Beyond operational efficiency, the platform connects workshops with insurers, parts suppliers, and fleet operators, creating a fully integrated ecosystem. By bringing greater transparency, accountability, and professionalism to independent garages, Autorox enables them to deliver an experience that rivals authorized service centres.

Why you call it as Swiggy-style experience and how your service involves customers?

Until now, our primary focus has been on digitizing workshop operations. The next phase of our journey is to bring convenience and service visibility directly to vehicle owners through a dedicated customer-facing application.

Internally, we often describe this goal as a “Swiggy-style experience” for automotive repair because it simplifies how customers discover, choose, and engage with service providers. Vehicle owners frequently struggle to identify the right workshop for a specific repair requirement and often have limited visibility into the capabilities of independent garages. Our upcoming platform will provide detailed information about workshops, including their expertise, facilities, service offerings, insurance support, and operational capacity.

More importantly, customers will be able to receive estimates, approve repairs digitally, and track the status of their vehicles in real time throughout the service journey. The objective is to create a transparent, seamless, and convenient experience that strengthens trust between customers and independent workshops.

Autorox was built by workshop operators who have firsthand experience of the challenges faced by garage businesses. As a result, the platform is designed to address real operational pain points through a mobile-first, easy-to-adopt solution,” says Vijay Gummadi, Founder of Autorox

What is unique value proposition differentiating you compared with other players?

Autorox was built by workshop operators who have firsthand experience of the challenges faced by garage businesses. As a result, the platform is designed to address real operational pain points through a mobile-first, easy-to-adopt solution.

Unlike standalone software tools that solve individual problems, Autorox brings the entire workshop workflow onto a single platform, from customer onboarding and job management to inventory, billing, and performance tracking. The platform also incorporates advanced analytics and AI-driven capabilities, including predictive recommendations, and parts suggestions, helping workshops improve technician productivity, operational efficiency, and overall profitability.

Can you throw light on the Indian garage network?

India has an extensive independent automotive service ecosystem, comprising nearly 200,000 garages, with more than 100,000 focused on passenger vehicles. As the aftermarket industry continues to evolve, established global brands such as Bosch have also expanded their presence through organized independent service networks.

Our own journey began with CarZ, a multi-location garage brand operating across South India. While building and managing those workshops, we witnessed the growing need for better technology and backend integration to improve efficiency and customer experience. That insight ultimately led to the creation of Autorox, which was founded with the mission of digitizing and modernizing automotive workshop operations.

Can you elaborate about your current operations and business reach?

As of early 2026, Autorox supports thousands of workshops across approximately 40 countries, with a strong presence in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. We are also actively expanding into the US market.

In India, the platform powers a few thousand workshops across 900 pin codes, making it one of the country’s largest digitally enabled garage networks. We work with independent mom & pop repair shops through large enterprise networks with hundreds of franchised locations. Over the years, these workshops have processed millions of repair orders through the platform, collectively representing more than $1 billion in service transactions. This scale provides valuable operational insights while reinforcing our position as a leading technology partner for the independent automotive aftermarket.

When it comes to independent garages, is there any large enterprises running of chain of garages using your services?

Yes. Autorox works with several organized service networks, including Bosch Service Centres, which maintain some of the highest operating standards within the independent automotive service ecosystem. In addition to large national networks, we also partner with enterprise operators managing multiple workshop locations within specific geographies. These businesses typically operate networks of 15–20 garages and leverage Autorox to standardize operations, improve visibility, and enhance customer experience across all their outlets.

What is your future plan and where you will be in the next five years?

The response from workshop owners has been extremely encouraging, and we believe the market is entering a phase of accelerated digital transformation. In the next 3 years, our goal is to expand our footprint significantly and digitally enable over 10K of India’s top workshops.

Beyond growth in numbers, our broader vision is to become the digital backbone of the independent automotive aftermarket, connecting workshops, customers, insurers, suppliers, and fleet operators through a single, integrated platform. By doing so, we aim to make vehicle servicing more transparent, efficient, and accessible for all stakeholders in the ecosystem.

Do you think, the independent garage industry in India has skilled labour on par with industry standard to handle advanced repairing solutions in vehicles? If not, can you elaborate how the industry is handling this issue?

While India has a large pool of experienced technicians, the independent garage industry is still evolving in its ability to service increasingly sophisticated vehicles equipped with advanced electronics, software-driven systems, and connected technologies. Unlike mature markets, India lacks a structured certification ecosystem for automotive technicians, resulting in varying skill levels across workshops. We’re addressing this challenge through continuous upskilling, easy to use tech solutions, digital diagnostics, technology platforms, and standardized repair workflows that help technicians access the right repair information, parts data, and service procedures. Technology is playing an important role in bridging the expertise gap and enabling independent garages to deliver more consistent and professional repair outcomes.

What kind of support you expect from the government to grow independent garage industry in India?

One of the most impactful steps the government can take is to strengthen the Right to Repair framework and ensure independent workshops have access to repair procedures, diagnostic information, parts catalogues, and technical documentation. This would create a more level playing field and improve service quality across the aftermarket. At the same time, stronger vocational training, technician certification programs, and initiatives that encourage digital adoption among workshops would help the sector become more skilled, transparent, and efficient. As vehicles become increasingly technology-driven, supporting skill development and information accessibility will be critical to ensuring the long-term growth of India’s independent.