AutoNation, Inc. on Jan. 26 announced it completed the acquisition of RepairSmith, a full-service mobile solution for automotive repair and maintenance, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, with a significant operational footprint in the southern and western U.S.
The acquisition of RepairSmith creates meaningful after-sales business opportunities, including using another channel to provide service to AutoNation's existing customer base and introduce additional vehicle owners who have purchased vehicles outside the AutoNation dealer network.
RepairSmith will serve as a resource for reconditioning and internal services to increase AutoNation's speed to frontline readiness and expedite vehicle delivery to customers.
"Apart from the important outcome of adding over 400 talented and dynamic team members, the acquisition of RepairSmith represents a unique opportunity for us across many aspects of the automotive value chain," said Mike Manley, CEO of AutoNation. "We have over 11 million customers with different and diverse after-sales needs. RepairSmith will add additional customer-centric and convenient repair and service options for our customers---further improving our penetration and loyalty.
"The acquisition of RepairSmith accelerates AutoNation's ability to gain market share in the non-franchise aftermarket," Manley added. "Customers who have migrated away from franchised dealerships now have a competitive, more convenient alternative to the standalone maintenance and repair providers. They now have a mobile service solution backed by the country's most respected and admired automotive retail group. RepairSmith will add a strong competitive advantage to our AutoNation USA preowned business---which will now be able to offer after-sales services to their customers that other competitors cannot do. And finally, we will bring the full weight and scale of the AutoNation business to RepairSmith to accelerate their growth and success."
"We are excited to embark on the journey to deliver convenient auto repair with AutoNation," said Joel Milne, RepairSmith CEO. "Our shared vision to improve the lives of people and their families provides a strong foundation that embodies our collective spirit of innovation and transformation. I'm incredibly proud of all we have built at RepairSmith. I look forward to unlocking even more value as we drive toward a bright future together."
Helping to fuel its innovation and operational excellence, AutoNation has appointed Christian Treiber as president of after-sales. Treiber will lead the after-sales team, whose objective is to drive the performance of after-sales operations through continued development and implementation of strategic initiatives that further promote customer satisfaction and loyalty while continuing to deliver strong results.
Treiber will also be responsible for integrating the RepairSmith business into AutoNation as part of his role. He will work with Milne and the leadership team to continue the significant growth and geographical reach of RepairSmith's mobile repair and maintenance business. This responsibility includes developing and leveraging RepairSmith's unique capability of providing the most customer focused and convenient after-sales offering in the standalone used car market, working directly with the AutoNation USA leadership team.
Source: AutoNation
Abby Andrews