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Aftermarket Responds To Coronavirus
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By Counterman
Robert Bosch LLC announced that it added 212 aftermarket parts to its portfolio in 2022, covering nearly 64 million vehicles in operation across North America.
The new Bosch products, which cover domestic, European and Asian passenger and commercial vehicles, include 74 braking parts; 52 fuel and water pumps; 14 ignition coils; 27 cooling fans, rotating machines, spark plugs and ESP units; 38 sensors; and seven fuel injectors.
Bosch Braking
Bosch released 74 high-quality braking parts for dozens of vehicle makes and models in 2022, including the increasingly important Bosch Police Pursuit brake pads, manufactured to meet the high demands of safety, reliability and stopping consistency for law enforcement.
Additional brake parts released in 2022 include the new QuietCast disc brake pads and Bosch Blue disc brake pads for late-model Asian, European, domestic and heavy-duty vehicles.
Bosch Cooling Fans
Six cooling fans have been released in 2022, covering nearly 1.2 million vehicles. The cooling fans are built to operate at high temperatures and under high loads that are common in traffic and towing conditions. Also, they provide sufficient flow while the vehicle is idle while operating with minimal noise, according to Bosch. The cooling fans are designed for domestic vehicles that may no longer be serviced under warranty but are prime candidates for serviceability in the IAM (independent aftermarket).
Bosch ESP Units
Bosch released two new ADAS and Body Electronics Line ESP hydraulic units, which cover a variety of European applications for Audi vehicles. Bosch ESP hydraulic units are a direct replacement for the original units, ensuring customers get high-quality parts each time. They offer easy installation without the need for any additional modifications to the original fitment.
Bosch Fuel Injectors
Seven Bosch GDI fuel injectors were released this year. They’re direct replacements for many domestic, Asian and European vehicles. The Bosch GDI fuel injector is a key enabler for engine downsizing, while maintaining desired horsepower. Additionally, the injectors provide exact flow and original spray pattern for optimal performance while enhancing a homogenous and lean-burn performance, according to the company.
Bosch Fuel and Water Pumps
Bosch released 52 new fuel-pump parts in 2022, including the Bosch auxiliary water pump, which is equipped with a sealed pump chamber, an independent heating system and an EV- and hybrid-compatible cabin heat- control system.
Additionally, Bosch released new GDI high-pressure pumps, Bosch electric fuels pumps, Bosch auxiliary water pumps and more, all to ensure a long, reliable service life. Bosch’s “Better Than OE Design,” ensures each part is tested to the same rigorous quality standards as OE fuel pumps to improve upon ease of installation and drivability of a vehicle, according to the company.
Bosch Ignition Coils
Bosch released 14 original-equipment ignition coils in 2022, featuring precise, corrosion-resistant connections to provide an extensive service life. The Bosch ignition coil is known for its wide coverage of Ford makes and models and is built to meet and exceed OEM specifications to improve upon the original component.
Bosch Rotating Machines
Bosch released 10 rotating machines in 2022 to cover nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the United States and Canada. All rotating machines are designed for fewer returns and warranty claims to maintain durability. Additionally, the rotating machines are full-load tested to guarantee compliance with strict Bosch performance specifications. The Bosch rotating machines have robust domestic and European coverage.
Bosch Sensors
Bosch has released 38 new oxygen sensors, designed to improve fuel economy while reducing harmful emissions. Bosch oxygen sensors are easy to install and meet or exceed OE performance specifications.
Additionally, Bosch released one new crankshaft sensor, which is designed to accurately detect engine speed – the main control variable for the ignition timing – and one new MAF (mass airflow) sensor, covering late-model Volkswagen and Porsche vehicles, to ensure low levels of harmful emissions.
Bosch Spark Plugs
Bosch has released nine new EVO, Bosch and Bosch Copper with Nickel spark plugs in 2022, all designed to ensure a reliable ignition throughout its service life – even under extreme pressure conditions in modern engines. Through improved design and development materials, the spark plugs are engineered to reduce the chance for damage and optimize vehicle function in the most extreme conditions.
For more information regarding Bosch new and innovative aftermarket automotive parts and technologies, visit
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By Counterman
Founded in 2014, NEXUS Automotive International SA, based in Geneva, Switzerland, describes itself as a “growth accelerator for progressive companies in the automotive light vehicle and heavy-duty industry.”
The allure of this mission has created a strong pull, as the organization now boasts approximately 161 members in 139 countries. This encompasses nearly 20 regional divisions that include: Adriatic, Algeria, Argentina, Asia Pacific, Brazil, Bulgaria, Central Europe, Eurasia, France, Germany, Italy, Nordic Baltic, North America, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. Among these players in NEXUS’ international membership are 2,043 warehouse distributors, 9,023 retail stores, 90 suppliers (76 of which are global) and 75 heavy-duty suppliers, responsible for $37 billion in purchasing power.
Talk about strength in numbers.
The North American division of NEXUS Automotive – N! N. America for short – was formed just a year later in 2015. Founding shareholders of NEXUS Automotive North America include The Network/Parts Plus, now under the umbrella of the Automotive Parts Services Group (also known as “The Group,” comprised of the Pronto Network and Federated Auto Parts), Automotive Parts Associates (APA) and VIPAR Heavy Duty. In addition to the founding members, members of NEXUS in North America today also include Refacciones Originales Automotrices (Mexico), Uni-Select (Canada) and Advance Auto Parts (U.S.).
According to Gael Escribe, CEO and founder of NEXUS Automotive International SA, one of the strengths of the North American Division is its broad range of players.
“The NEXUS North America members are made up of a diverse group – ranging from traditional distributor to retail to light vehicle and heavy-duty. So, there is a lot to learn from each other, through best practices and collaboration,” Escribe said. “There is also an appreciation and a next level of loyalty consideration for those global supplier partners who work with our members at the local North America level and with NEXUS from a worldwide perspective,” he added. “They see long-term viability in suppliers who are engaged at both levels.”
This strategy makes a lot of sense, particularly with international issues such as economic recession, supply chain challenges, labor issues and more creating great waves of change across the automotive aftermarket landscape.
Escribe added that supplier partners are provided with instant credibility when soliciting business with NEXUS members from other parts of the world. This eliminates what can often be a major hurdle when trying to establish business partnerships in a new country.
The benefits of joining NEXUS Automotive are many, Escribe said. In addition to greater global collaboration and international credibility, they include exposure to a broader base of suppliers who can provide coverage range needs, an OE pedigree, a premium brand and quality alternative, availability (especially during these challenging times in the supply chain), competitive price; training and education enhancements through the NEXUS Academy; and awareness of global automotive, mobility and general economic trends.
Added Value for North American Distributors
As Robert Roos, president of The Pronto Network Cooperative, who also serves as president of NEXUS North America and a board member of NEXUS Automotive International, explained it, being involved in NEXUS adds value well beyond what the typical North American program group could offer.
“For us, NEXUS becomes really that add-on to what we do as a program group. It allows us to now partner with some of those folks in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, learn from them and collaborate with them. Really, through The Group we’re still negotiating our programs for our members, yet we like to add value with NEXUS and collaborate with them where we can. We were very intrigued with some of the projects that they were involved in, which really weren’t about putting a traditional marketing program together, or let’s negotiate a discount or a rebate on a product line,” said Roos.
“It’s really more about companies they’re investing in, the sustainability projects they have, and Marketparts.com, which is an avenue for trading inventory across the globe. They are really doing some out-of-the-box thinking and they’re looking much farther down the road than we might have an ability to do on our own. That’s what really drew us to NEXUS because we’re so busy with some of these other things, we just don’t have the resources, we don’t have the time to get it done. Being able to partner with all these organizations across the globe, now all of a sudden, we’ve got the structure and have the ability to do some of this stuff, which we think long-term is going to give us just a huge leap forward,” Roos added.
As Roos mentioned, all members of NEXUS Automotive across the globe have first-hand access to Marketparts.com, a B2B website to sell or buy inventory globally, as well as other global sourcing opportunities through the DRIVE+ private label program. This however just scratches the surface of the multi-faceted resources NEXUS provides its members. Resources are organized around three main areas: growth, transformation and sustainability.
Sustainability that Goes Beyond Being “Green”
In terms of sustainability efforts, NEXUS Automotive International offers support that is becoming increasingly critical to doing business today — both domestically and internationally. Inteliam is a sustainability/ESG rating company that was incubated by NEXUS, and provides members, non-members, installers and suppliers with guidance and direction on sustainability rating efforts that are becoming a prerequisite to many financial transactions in business today.
Steve Tucker, president of Automotive Parts Associates – a founding member of N! N. America – shared that this is particularly helpful for a lot of APA members involved in government bid business today.
“They’re having to provide proof that they are working toward establishing a sustainability index or state their sustainability score. Most of these guys are smaller businesses, some are larger, but they don’t have the wherewithal or even know where to begin [with this process],” said Tucker. “NEXUS has provided a blueprint and they actually have a sustainability person on staff who can help write it up or help explain what they need to do. It’s more than just being responsible to the environment. Obviously, that’s important, but it can also impact your ability to borrow money from the banks. It can impact who you can sell parts to and actually who will sell your parts.”
Tucker added that in some cases today suppliers are looking at customers from a sustainability perspective because it impacts what that supplier can do financially, as well. “You can go back and say, ‘Hey, 80% of my customers are recycling cardboard or pallets or are utilizing electric vehicles as part of the delivery fleet.’ All those things play into it,” he added.
Roos confirmed his members are seeing the same changes in business today. “We had one of our large members that did a sustainability program, presented it to their lender, and got a better loan rate,” Roos said. Becoming educated and aligned with these sorts of efforts through NEXUS Automotive International is a win-win, not only helping global environmental efforts, but helping aftermarket businesses stay competitive in a challenging time.
Creating a “Spark” Through Innovation
Joe Stephan, a longtime aftermarket executive, joined NEXUS in February 2021 as vice president, sales & business development – North America, NEXUS Automotive. In this role, Stephan works with NEXUS North America supplier partners to strengthen the value proposition of the regional entity and introduce the different N! services and concepts to members. As such, he is well-versed on the innovative growth opportunities NEXUS has developed, including Inteliam and an aftermarket-specific startup incubator called SPARKER.
“The SPARKER idea came about because of suppliers talking to NEXUS about either products or services that they would like to look at to bring to the automotive community,” he said. Stephan explained that as NEXUS looked deeper into this, they realized there are thousands of mobility and automotive startups around the world that could be consolidated into a portfolio to both assist the startups with things such as HR, sales & marketing, strategy development, etc., and also offer suppliers and distributors the ability to review startup opportunities they could potentially help bring to market.
“This created an opportunity for suppliers or distributors to have a peak into the portal to take a look at either at a very high level – or a detailed level and pay an annual subscription – to be able to look in at these 2,500 to 5,000 startups that are in there,” Stephan said.
“In addition, we are all learning from technologies like the NEXUS funded Ki Mobility Solutions in India where an automotive ecosystem has been created,” said Stephan. “Distributors, suppliers and vehicle owners are participating in this digital platform automotive aftermarket community providing parts and service solutions in the form of aftermarket alternatives.”
Better Together
Like Roos and Tucker, on the heavy-duty side, Chris Baer, AAP, president & CEO of the VIPAR Heavy Duty Family of Companies, sees strength and value in the global partnership. VIPAR not only is a founding member of N! N. America, but also the founding heavy-duty member.
“Some of the core reasons why we joined [initially] are still very valid today,” said Baer. “NEXUS has done a very good job over the years to add to their value proposition. They’re very innovative, and they’re very quick at executing. VIPAR’s strength over the years has been local and regional and you could say maybe national. Our distributors are local or regional. But as you start to look at the rest of the world, things have changed so much in the last five years. The timing was really good for us to join NEXUS because they’ve got this whole global game down. … There’s a whole portfolio of tools available and they keep bringing out more,” Baer added.
While N! N. America members certainly see competitive advantage to their involvement in NEXUS, the North American members have something to offer as well – particularly in heavy-duty, Baer said.
“What we bring is what the guys on the automotive side are all trying to peek over the fence at, which is how do we get in this heavy-duty business. So, there’s a whole bunch of collaboration opportunities that we’ve done fairly well with, some technology stuff and collaborating on national account programs where the customer has vehicles on both sides of the road. Technology’s making that easier and easier to execute. So, there’s a NEXUS North America influence that we have on the heavy-duty side because we’re the exclusive player,” he added.
The Future of NEXUS Automotive
Looking ahead to 2023, Escribe shared several goals for the international organization, including revenue growth for supplier partners; launching the NEXUS Academy training program for the North American market; introducing additional key N! N. America suppliers to the rest of the world; and finding new innovative ways to add value to members and supplier partners — supporting mutually beneficial growth all over the world.
To learn more about a supplier partnership, membership or access to some of the innovative projects that NEXUS Automotive International has introduced to the market, visit its website at
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By Counterman
The 2022 AWDA Aftermarket Challenge is underway and the program groups are all in, according to Bob Egan, chairman of the University of the Aftermarket Foundation.
The annual campaign is supported by program groups, aftermarket suppliers, manufacturers’ representatives and other industry organizations to raise funds for scholarships and programs that strengthen the aftermarket through education. The following organizations have committed to participation in the 2022 Challenge to date.
Program distribution groups
Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance Automotive Parts Associates Automotive Parts Services Group Federated Auto Parts The Pronto Network Aftermarket suppliers and manufacturers’ reps
AIT/Trakmotive AMS Automotive AP Emissions Technologies Bosch CARDONE Industries Cloyes Gear and Products Dash4 Brake Parts Dayco Products Delphi Technologies/Borg-Warner Dorman Products East Penn Manufacturing Elite EXTRA Enersys Epicor Software FCS Automotive First Brands Group GB Remanufacturing Global Parts Distributors Grote Industries GSP North America Hirsig-Frazier Company Holstein Parts IAP/DuraGo ISC Industries KYB Americas Lisle Corporation Litens Aftermarket Mevotech Motorcar Parts of America N.A. Williams Company NTN Bearing Corp. Plews & Edelmann Powerstop Premium Guard Siggins Standard Motor Products Tasco Unity Automotive Winhere Brake Parts ZF Aftermarket “The program groups were the first to step up and support this year’s AWDA Aftermarket Challenge and many aftermarket suppliers and reps have already offered their support,” said Egan. “We thank these fine organizations and invite all industry members to support the 2022 Challenge. The future of the aftermarket depends on the next generation of automotive professionals, and that makes our mission of funding scholarships and educational programs extremely important. Together we can make a real difference.”
To support the challenge, contact UAF Executive Director Jennifer Tio at [email protected] To learn more about the University of the Aftermarket Foundation and its available scholarships, or to make a donation, visit
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By Counterman
The Automotive Aftermarket Riders Club (AARC) will “Ride for the Future” this October to fund scholarships and educational opportunities for the next generation of industry professionals.
AARC encourages those who support its mission to donate to the University of the Aftermarket Foundation, sponsor a rider or join AARC on this year’s epic adventure.
The scenic ride will begin at Eagle Rider Rentals and Tours in Las Vegas on Thursday, Oct. 27, with the riders heading to Zion National Park in Southern Utah and Lake Powell in Northern Arizona. The following day, the riders will spend the day at the Grand Canyon before heading back to Las Vegas on Oct. 29 via Kingman, Arizona on Route 66.
Interested riders can rent motorcycles from Eagle Rider Rentals and Tours with an advance reservation. For more information or to learn how to become a rider or sponsor, contact Jim McGonagle at [email protected]
To support the AARC Ride for the Future by making a donation to the University of the Aftermarket Foundation, visit
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By Counterman
Steve Handschuh, a highly respected automotive aftermarket veteran who joined the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) in 2006, died on Aug. 22.
A native of Baltimore, Handschuh joined MEMA as president and chief operating officer of MEMA’s Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA) division and was named president and CEO of MEMA in 2013. Handschuh retired in December 2018.
An aftermarket veteran of more than 40 years, Handschuh is known for his service to NAPA Auto Parts/Genuine Parts Co. for 18 years, including serving as NAPA president from 1998 to 2004. Handschuh later served as senior vice president, commercial, at AutoZone.
He began his career as an outside salesman for Mighty Auto Parts, where he rose to vice president of sales and marketing.
“MEMA and our industry have lost a great one,” said Bill Long, MEMA president and CEO. “Steve was a dynamic leader, consummate professional and friend to all who worked with and for him at MEMA, and he left a tremendous legacy from his leadership. He will be mourned by the entire MEMA family, both employees and membership.
“Steve was a man of integrity and always spoke highly of his wife, Joann, and children, making them his top priority. He was deeply involved in serving in his local Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall and helping its young community. As a son of Charm City, Steve was a lifelong Orioles fan. Steve was also passionate about music and was undoubtably a superfan of The Beatles.”
In 2018, Handschuh received the MEMA Triangle Award – the organization’s highest honor – for his vision, passion and dedication to the interests of the automotive industry.
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