Parents marry Shell to Diesel Electric

Fuel brand Shell and Diesel Electric inadvertently became partners last week when the one’s parent company and the other’s main supplier this week announced a new pan-African partnership to expand the continental footprint of both.
Vivo Energy, the company that distributes and markets Shell-branded products in 16 African markets, and Bosch, the German engineering and automotive aftermarket supplier, announced the deal this week to expand service delivery to their growing customer base.
Vivo Energy operates over 1,430 Shell branded service stations across Africa while Bosch provides 16,500 Bosch service partners and countless number of independent workshops in 150 countries with a complete range of diagnostic and repair shop equipment and a wide range of spare parts. In Namibia, Bosch is represented by Diesel Electric, a well-known company with branches and service agents in several of the bigger centra.
Through this partnership, Vivo Energy and Bosch will bring together their respective expertise in the areas of automotive spare parts and services, and retail distribution of oil products.  The automotive aftermarket division of Bosch Middle East and Africa will distribute commodities such as batteries, filters, wiper blades and spark plugs, and quick service test equipment including air conditioning and battery tester/chargers to selected Shell service stations operated by Vivo Energy.  In addition, the German automotive aftermarket supplier will market the Bosch Car Service (BCS) or Express Car Service (ECS) concepts at selected Shell service stations.

Through the Bosch automotive aftermarket local distributors, this initiative will be progressively rolled out, starting towards the end of 2014, on selected sites where there is sufficient market demand in all the countries where Vivo Energy operates a retail network.
Mr David Mureithi, Executive Vice President Supply & Marketing at Vivo Energy, stated that: “This partnership confirms Vivo Energy’s objective to continuously bring innovative solutions to our growing number of customers. This is a great opportunity to create a deeper connection with our customers by taking enhanced care of their vehicles. We are confident that, together with Bosch, we shall remain at the forefront and offer our customers world-class automotive services and spare parts at Shell service stations.”
Mr Andreas Bodemer, Vice President of Bosch Middle East and Africa said: “As part of our efforts to reach the maximum of car drivers in the region with our excellent services, we are expanding our operation channels via important strategic partnerships. We are delighted to sign an agreement with such a professional partner as Vivo Energy which will allow us both to enjoy a wider presence in various fast growing markets.”