Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, is expanding the braJune 24, 2013 , Auburn Hills, Mich. – Since Fiat SpA aligned with Chrysler Group LLC, the companies have opened Mopar warehouses in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the Middle East, and the United Arab Emirates. Today, both companies announced the opening of a new parts distribution center in Pretoria, South Africa.

“We will strategically grow our parts distribution network in order to support our brands and customers in the marketplace,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC’s and Fiat SpA’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “Our new parts distribution center will further improve service to our dealers, distributors and customers in this region. We will continue to look for opportunities to support our growth.”

Mopar’s new parts distribution center is located in Pretoria, South Africa. The 19,000 sq.-meter facility will distribute more than 50,000 part numbers to 80 delivery points in South Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes 280,000 parts and accessories. With the creation of the industrial alliance between Chrysler Group and Fiat SpA, Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar’s global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories that are distributed in more than 130 markets. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group brands as well as Fiat brands.

Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler Group and Fiat vehicles – a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com.

Mopar-first Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:
·         Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with customers
·         Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format. First to offer complete vehicle-information kits in Spanish
·         Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
·         Wireless charging: first to introduce in-vehicle wireless charging for portable devices
·         Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
·         wiAdvisor: first to provide factory-connected tablet technology in the service lane for instant vehicle diagnosis
·         wiTech: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network
·         2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car

More than 75 Years of Mopar
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked for antifreeze product in 1937. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the muscle-car era. The former Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “special parts” for super-stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use. The brand has expanded to include technical service and customer support.