BP Ventures invests in e-commerce automotive technology developer

BP Ventures has invested USD3 million in PartsTech, an online parts and supply platform for the automotive aftermarket industry. The investment forms part of a Series A funding round, led by BP Ventures and supported by BP’s lubricant business, Castrol.

PartsTech is a next-generation auto parts ordering platform designed to help professional technicians and workshop owners save time and reduce the difficulty associated with wholesale automotive parts procurement. Its search engine includes a built-in ordering system designed to help identify and order the right parts for the required repairs quickly and in a single search.

The investment supports Castrol’s aspirations to grow in the digital eco-system of the service and maintenance sector and forms part of its strategy to build a leadership position for the Castrol brand in the U.S. automotive workshop market.

“This investment will further enhance BP and Castrol’s ambitions to grow in the service and maintenance space by digitally engaging with the workshops, helping enable fast and efficient delivery of parts and lubricants through PartsTech’s exciting new platform. As one of the world’s leading lubricants brands we want to play our part in all aspects of the workshop value chain,” said Mandhir Singh, CEO of Castrol.

“The growing trend of process digitization in automotive maintenance is resulting in a shift to online ordering and supply management. This investment enables us to really capitalise on this trend and we are extremely excited to be working with PartsTech and exploring growth opportunities with our team at Castrol,” added Shaun Healey, principal, BP Ventures.

“Rapid changes in vehicle technology, connectivity, complexity, and ownership are all dramatically impacting service, maintenance, and repair. Our team is excited to accelerate our growth in providing enterprise procurement solutions for repair shops, software providers, fleets, and distributors. We are thrilled to partner with BP Ventures and Castrol and to be able to leverage their strength to expand our capabilities into lubricants and quick lube, as well as to support our continued growth into new geographic markets,” said Gregory Kirber, CEO, PartsTech.

The investment builds on and complements Castrol’s existing collaborations within the digital automotive maintenance market with RepairPal, a consumer-facing portal for auto repair; Zubie, fleet management and telematics business; Zippity, a mobile auto repair and maintenance provider, and Autino, a workshop management system provider.