General Motors founder William C. “Billy” Durant assembled a dream team of premium automotive brands into a new company called United Motors Corporation – the forerunner of ACDelco – to provide a single source for service and replacement parts to the growing number of car buyers.
ACDelco is celebrating its 100th birthday not only by reflecting on its deep heritage, but planning its future as the automotive industry is being transformed again. The brand that flew over the Atlantic with Charles Lindbergh becoming the first person in history to be in New York in one day and Paris the next and Amelia Earhart as she became the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean; on the racetrack with ace stock car racing driver Dale Earnhardt and into outer space on Apollo moon missions is leveraging its GM roots to understand the advanced powertrains, telematics and technologies that will reshape the future for everyday motorists.
“No business achieves this kind of a milestone by itself, and we’re grateful for the support of our parts customers and employees who’ve helped make ACDelco what it is today,” said Robert Sanford, general director, ACDelco USA. “We’re honored that so many insist on using ACDelco parts, and we’re looking forward to another 100 years of aftermarket leadership.”
Commenting on this centennial celebration Rajesh Nangia, Director ACDelco India, said, “To celebrate the occasion, we are rolling out a customer engagement activation program called ‘ACDelco Full Throttle’ to honor and recognize our top 100 wholesale distributors for their continued commitment and dedication to grow the AC Delco brand in India. Adding to this we shall also conduct customer meets and on-ground brand activation to reach out & thank our end customers and retailers.”
Since its birth in Flint, Michigan, ACDelco – the true GM Original Equipment aftermarket parts brand – has evolved into a global force in the automotive aftermarket. Its catalog of more than 90,000 parts across 37 lines undergoes rigorous testing and validation cycles to ensure quality, fit, form and function.
In addition to premium parts, ACDelco was among the first aftermarket providers to focus on the importance of training technicians on proper installation techniques. Another earlier iteration of ACDelco – United Motors Service – offered its first course in automotive air conditioning repair in the 1970s, at each of its 30 GM Training Centers across the U.S.
In India ACDelco established itself in 1997 as a part of the General Motors India initiative in the “All Makes All Models” aftermarket parts business. ACDelco today supplies a diverse range of more than 2,500 parts that majorly takes in lubricants, batteries, drive-shafts, oil, fuel and air filters, brake pads and wipers from its 9 distribution centers. Its presence in 20 states and 105 towns of India with close to 1000 direct wholesale distributors & 20000+ retailers is understandable of ACDelco’ s strong foothold in the Indian sub-continent.
