7:30 am, June 12, 2022
Renault Group has bought tech start-up Fixter as it looks to speed up its digitalisation programme.
The platform, which was founded in London in 2017 as an end-to-end service to simplify vehicle maintenance, connects people with garages so they can get their vehicle serviced without leaving home.
The acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, will help Renault speed up its digitalisation programme, said the manufacturer.
Fixter was established by Limvirak Chea, Frédéric Dermer and Cristian Vrabie with the claim that it can make servicing, repairs or an MOT as simple as phoning for a taxi or takeaway.
Chea said: ‘We are delighted to have found in Renault an industry partner who shares both our vision and our ambition to reinvent vehicle maintenance for the future – simple, transparent and hassle-free.
‘The expertise and resources of a major group like Renault, combined with Fixter’s agility and start-up mindset, will help us to go even further and faster in this revolution.’
Hakan Dogu, Renault Group’s senior vice-president of global aftersales, added: ‘Developing our activity in the independent aftermarket is a strategic axis within the Renault Group’s aftermarket.
‘We are continuing to develop our multi-brand independent aftermarket offer and are thoroughly modernising our aftersales value chain in order to better meet our customers’ expectations.
‘By acquiring the Fixter start-up, we will be able to combine the expertise and strength of the group and its network with Fixter’s agility and knowledge of all the digital aspects of automotive maintenance.
‘We will thus be able to offer services of the highest quality and accelerate the digitalisation of our activities.’
Fixter’s development will continue in the UK, as well as in the second half of 2022 in France with the support of the network. It will also expand in future years to include other European countries.
Renault said Fixter will benefit from the support of the multi-brand network of Motrio garages, which has 2,500 sites in Europe, the know-how and digital services of Renault Group plus the financial expertise of Mobilize Financial Services.
Fixter makes appointments online, prepares quotes, collects the vehicle and takes it to the group’s partner network, sorts out invoicing, aftersales, service and repair guarantees, then returns the vehicle.
Pictured at top from left are Frédéric Dermer, Limvirak Chea and Cristian Vrabie
