Continuing its Southeast Asian expansion, Petromin has, through its subsidiary National Auto Parts Company (NAP), acquired a leading Indian auto-tech platform, SpareIt
This smartphone-based application is a procurement platform that links garages with suppliers and logistic providers creating a competitive Ecommerce marketplace.
Essentially, SpareIt serves as an integrated solution enabling workshops to manage their entire workflow via digital job cards and connect with their customers directly.
Shifting gears
Leveraging Petromin’s industry expertise of 60 years in premium lubricants, multi-modal mobility solutions and multi-brand dealerships, NAP has now shifted gears to transform the region’s aftersales auto parts segment into a technologically driven entity.
A signing ceremony was held in Jeddah, where NAP leadership agreed on acquisition of the company’s majority stakes together with an infusion of fresh capital in the startup. This partnership will largely accelerate NAP’s digital footprint beyond the kingdom, while achieving Petromin’s sustainability goals in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030.
On the occasion, Steve Horne, CEO National Auto Parts Company, and Prashant Kamdar, CEO of SpareIt, were the official signatories of the contract; while Kalyana Sivagnanam, Group CEO, Petromin Corporation, Sanjay Nigam, Managing Director India and SE Asia Petromin Corporation, and Romi Chugh, Co-founder of SpareIt, witnessed the exchange along with several attendees from Petromin Corporation.
Rapid disruption
Horne said: “NAP is rapidly disrupting the region’s aftermarket auto parts industry by developing a modern digital infrastructure to facilitate customer convenience and accessibility. Our investment in SpareIt’s integrated E-commerce platform delivers efficiencies, increased footfall as well as competitive prices and services. Currently functional in India with over 7,000 active garages, the app will soon be introduced in the kingdom.
Chugh said: “We believe that our vision can dramatically speed up the global rollout trajectory in terms of product features, deeper penetration across garages and access to a significantly broader auto spare parts marketplace. Petromin’s strong management strength will help us evolve rapidly into a large enterprise while effectively avoiding the pitfalls seen in the typical journey of a startup.”
Nigam said: “Investment in SpareIt marks a cornerstone for Petromin’s business development in India. We intend to increase our penetration in the region and believe that a tech-enabled approach is key to build a scalable and sustainable business across the various verticals of Petromin. During our study of the market and screening opportunities in India, SpareIt stood out with their vision, rapid execution ability and maturity, along with the drive of its founders, making it an ideal addition to NAP’s profile.”
EV service hubs
Today, several leading OEMs and 3PL companies in India, use this network as their EV service hubs. With strong B2B customer engagements and the support of business conglomerates like, Petromin, the team is planning to further train in excess of 5,000 workshops to achieve an ‘EV-ready’ status. This collaboration will prove symbiotic for the automotive value chain in Saudi Arabia and India, pushing them higher to become economies of scale.-- TradeArabia News Service
