On May 5, MAIHOIII, LLC (hereinafter, “MAIHOIII”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”), acquired Automotive Parts and Services Holdings, LLC (hereinafter, “APSH”). APSH provides online distribution of automotive repair parts and mobile inspection (on-site inspection/verification of customer repair claims) to insurance companies offering vehicle service contracts*1 in the United States as well as the administrators servicing those contracts.

Since vehicle inspection regulations in the United States are simpler and inspections are less frequent than required in Japan, the potential costs associated with automotive maintenance and repair are severe. Approximately 50% of United States customers who buy new or used automobiles purchase vehicle service contracts with extended warranties. To the backdrop of higher repair costs as automobiles become increasingly high-performance, consumer uptake of vehicle service contracts in the US has been increasing year on year, with these contracts serving as a product to support long-term use and ownership of automobiles.

Selecting and ordering appropriate parts at the right price is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process. APSH has established a supply chain for various parts, as well as a network of more than 300 inspectors, to provide an online service that promptly selects appropriate and competitively priced parts, places orders, and verifies repair claims for insurance companies.

Because APSH has the ability to instantly select and present compatible parts from the 21 million SKUs in its procurement network, it has a trusted and preferred status across multiple prominent vendors and customers throughout the United States. APSH also promotes API integration*2 of parts suppliers’ and insurance companies’ core systems, contributing to improved customer service and convenience. By lowering the cost and increasing the efficiency of administering claims, APSH thus helps insurance companies increase the overall satisfaction of consumers availing of vehicle service contracts.

Marubeni has been expanding its aftermarket automotive parts distribution business in the United States since 2016. APSH has enhanced its e-commerce automotive parts business to encompass the entire United States, by both increasing inventory, and by forming an alliance with parts suppliers in various nationwide locations.

Through this acquisition, in the growing market of United States’ automotive parts distribution, Marubeni will expand its sales network for maintenance and repair parts, an area in which customers value immediate delivery, availability, and a wide selection of parts at various price points. In addition, Marubeni will expand its business domain in e-commerce and its affiliated supply chain to meet the demand of a new segment of insurance company customers.

In conjunction with the management team and the entire ASPH staff, Marubeni will seek to preserve the company’s unique culture, mission and unmatched dedication to customers, vendors and all APSH stakeholders. 

*1 Extended warranty contract that provides financial protection after expiration of OEM standard warranty.
*2 Application Programming Interface. A mechanism to directly connect and embed functions from different software.

APSH Overview
Company Name:	Automotive Parts and Services Holdings, LLC
Location:	Richmond, Virginia
Main Business:	Holding company of the following two companies that provide B to B services primarily to insurance companies
Established:	2008
Shareholder:	MAIHOIII, LLC (Marubeni Group) 100%
Subsidiary:	C&K Auto Parts, LLC (B to B e-commerce Automobile Parts Distribution) Warranty Inspection Services, LLC (Dispatch of Automobile Inspectors (Mobile Inspection))