A 2km stretch of road from Kuleshwor to Kalimati has become the go-to place for vehicle owners looking to accessorise their ride. The close proximity to major vehicle showrooms in Kuleshwor and Thapathali has seen numerous car accessory shops sprouting in the area.

According to Samir Raj Gautam, owner of New Pioneer Decoration House at Kuleshwor, the location is ideal to cater to vehicle owners and most shops are concentrated in the area.

These shops provide a range of car decor services such as installation of music system, car cover, roof racks, car perfume, mats, seat cover, chrome set and more.

According to one of the traders at Kuleshwor, car decor houses are making sales of up to Rs200,000 per day. Some shops are even recording Rs4 million in monthly transactions while most shops pull in Rs1 million a month.

It cost Rs52,000 to Rs150,000 to decorate a SUV while it costs Rs20,000 to Rs50,000 to decorate cars. Similarly, for public vehicles it costs Rs80,000 to Rs250,000, especially for micro buses, said a shop owner.

Meanwhile, Raju Pradhan, owner of Beatles Decor, said that the car accessories business is fluctuating. The government’s decision to cap loan on the automobile sector was the primary reason in fluctuation of car accessories business.

Currently, there are more than 200 car accessories shops from Kuleshwor to Kalimati and competition is fierce.

Just 10 years ago, there were less than a handful of car accessories shops, said Santosh Baidar Shrestha, owner of Car Boutique.

“Although there is tough competition among shops, customers will come back for repeat business if they are happy with your services,” said Gautam, who has been in the car accessories business for 12 years.

Millions of investment has been poured into Kuleshwor lane for car accessories business, said a shop owner. As the automobile market is expanding, the business of car accessories is also booming, they said.

Car accessories are mainly imported from India and China. Some shops import car accessories directly while some purchase from the domestic market. “In the past, majority of the accessories were imported from India but now most of the products come from China,” said a shop owner. Likewise, Shrestha imports car accessories from China, Thailand and India.

According to the traders, more than 400 to 500 people are working at different shops in the lane.

The car accessories business goes up ahead of major festivals such as Dashain and Tihar while the business slows down in spring as it is the time when the fiscal year ends, according to Gautam. Similarly, car accessories shops see a surge in sales when the vehicle showrooms start providing schemes, he added.

Most of the customers look to add music system services, seat covers, mats and steering cover.