Carmaker Groupe PSA has purchased a stake in Chinese spare parts supplier UAP, based in Shandong province, as part of the French group’s expansion in China strategy.
The latest acquisition is a first step and could lead to a greater interest in UAP, with several steps defined to increase PSA’s participation, a group spokeswoman told Automotive Logistics, without revealing the percentages involved.
UAP has more than 100 hubs in Shandong province, and is expanding its delivery service to surrounding provinces with 50 hubs. “Our desire is to support the development of UAP not only in Shandong, but also in the surrounding provinces,” she said.As part of its global corporate Push to Pass growth strategy, PSA is pressing ahead with a multi-brand aftermarket offering, notably through its Eurorepar range for maintenance and wear-and-tear replacement parts.
“Our ambition is to become a leader in spare parts distribution and multi-brand repair in China, and this could lead us to new acquisitions or partnerships,” said the spokeswoman.
[mpu_ad]The group bought spare parts distributor Jian Xin in China earlier this year and has opened its first distribution hub with PSA’s long-established Dongfeng Peugeot Citroën Automobiles (DPCA) joint venture.PSA is also expanding its multi-brand repair business, Euro Repair Car Service, with more than 350 garages already signed up in China. Acquiring a stake in UAP will boost that expansion, says the group
Christophe Musy, senior vice-president of PSA Aftermarket, added: “China will soon be the world’s biggest aftersales market, and we have set ourselves very high ambitions there, which is why we’re already securing strong market positions.”
The group’s goal is to have 4,000 Eurorepar service garages in China, and 10,000 worldwide, by 2023.
