Autogenie is Pakistan’s first on-demand car maintenance service

For Hamza Abbas, founder of vehicle repair and service startup Autogenie, his first job as a fleet manager alerted him to the difficulties that come with maintaining a car or a truck. Whilst working at a logistics firm, Hamza was tasked with managing and servicing a large fleet of delivery vehicles, where he found his biggest obstacle was maintenance – reliable mechanics were few and far between and there was no service which Hamza could utilize on a recurring basis.

As a result, the supply chain had inefficiencies – vehicles would sometimes not be available as Hamza sourced mechanics to keep them running. A time consuming and cumbersome task. Furthermore, costs for regular maintenance were often inflated by unscrupulous mechanics, affecting the firm’s bottom line. “If I was facing this issue, I’m sure others had similar concerns,” he says.

Hamza moved quickly to research whether his idea could be validated in Pakistan. He spoke with members of his family who were involved in the distribution and logistics business, and they told him such a service was absolutely necessary. Hamza was also approached by friends and acquaintances when they heard he was thinking of launching an on-demand vehicle repair business which further validated his idea.

“There are approximately 2.2 million vehicles in Lahore alone, and the existing state of repair workshops is fragmented and derelict,” says Hamza. “I knew there was a large market I could capitalize on.”

Hunting down mechanics

Hamza and team moved quickly to sign up mechanics, while inducting them into the startup after a process that the founder describes as “thorough and meticulous.” Soon, a website was also online. Now, people no longer had to visit their neighborhood mechanic for vehicle repair and maintenance. Appointments could be booked online, where a customer would briefly describe the nature of the job requested, and a trained automotive technician would visit their home or workplace to do the task.

Autogenie also does more than simple repair and maintenance. For its premium members it offers roadside assistance. It also helps customers with regulatory and tax compliance requirements, submitting tax duties and documents on their behalf when needed.

Autogenie Team

Apart from periodic maintenance and repair, Autogenie also provides detailed analytics that help user determine the amount spent on repairs, downtime, and recurring faults. This level of detail was simply not available before.

The Pakistani startup is picking up on the web-connected, on-demand services boom around the world that covers everything from cleaners to hairstylists, valet parking to laundry. Compatriot startup Beautyhooked is another local example. In similar territory to Autogenie, two on-demand car maintenance apps in China recently raised US$10 million apiece in series A funding, so it’s a niche with a lot of potential.