One Thing We're Talking About: Stellantis launches new aftermarket parts brand

Stellantis has launched a new aftermarket replacement parts brand to complement Mopar, its accessories and original equipment parts unit.

The brand, called bproauto, has 30 parts categories in North America for most vehicle makes and models. Available parts include air filters, batteries, brake pads, brake rotors, hub bearings, oil, oil filters and tire pressure monitoring systems. In the future, bproauto will offer water pumps, wiper blades, spark plugs, radiators and an array of other parts.

The bproauto parts brand in North America is a descendant of the successful Eurorepar brand that celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2022.

"We're starting with high-traffic, fast-moving parts to start with, and then will phase in more overtime," said Mike Koval, head of Mopar North America.

Initially, Koval said the bproauto parts will be available exclusively through Stellantis dealers and preferred wholesale partners across North America.

A marketing campaign to push the new brand likely will launch in the first quarter of 2024.

Koval said the average age of vehicles has risen around six months since 2015, going from 11 ½ years back then to 12 years in 2021. As vehicles get older, the company believes these parts will be needed.

"It relates to giving our customers choices," Koval told Automotive News. "This is the perfect time to introduce a second-line brand; really high-quality aftermarket parts that gives them the opportunity and choice to extend the life of their vehicles. This is a second line of service parts, of maintenance parts, that will be targeted generally to value-oriented customers and those who may have a vehicle that may be a little bit older."

The new parts brand will help Stellantis in its effort to grow sales in the independent aftermarket — one of the goals laid out in its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan. The automaker said the parts are designed for "optimal performance on most makes and models from old to new, domestic to import."

Koval said goal is to ultimately have 90 percent coverage on cars from "zero to 14 years of life." He said the company believes bproauto is "one of our solutions to increase our product revenues in the global independent aftermarket by more than 50 percent by the end of the decade." He said bproauto will be positioned to coexist with Mopar.

Koval also said Stellantis won't mandate dealers to stock bproauto parts, but the company highly recommends it.

"There was a desire for a second line in our network, so the dealers are behind it and we're starting to get interest from places outside of our existing dealer network as well, so very exciting," Koval said. "Early returns look good the month of August in terms of our performance, but suffice it to say we're two months in and the month-over-month growth is exponential."

Stellantis said bproauto's aftermarket parts cost less than original equipment offerings and are backed by a standard two-year/unlimited-mile warranty. Batteries have up to two-year free replacement coverage and brake pads carry a limited lifetime warranty.

"We're starting with high-traffic, fast-moving parts to start with, and then will phase in more overtime," Koval said.

Initially, Koval said the bproauto parts will be available exclusively through Stellantis dealers and preferred wholesale partners across North America.

A marketing campaign to push the new brand likely will launch in the first quarter of 2024.

"With the introduction of bproauto, we're further enhancing the customer experience by offering a new, competitively priced, private label line of high-quality, factory-backed parts for most makes and models," Koval said in a statement. "While Mopar will remain the global original-equipment parts and authentic accessories brand for Stellantis, bproauto will offer an alternative for nearly all brands and all cars — new, used, owned, rented or shared. With Mopar and bproauto, our dealerships offer a 360-degree, multi-brand, one-stop-shop solution for nearly all customers, all vehicles and all brands."