Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper launch blended ignition coil program

“We are making the exact OE parts available to the technician so that we can help ensure a complete repair with confidence every time,” said Justin Hebert, category manager for the Aftermarket Auto Parts Alliance, headquarters for Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper. It is the fourth blended program the Alliance has launched, beginning with an oxygen sensor program in 2013. “Our customers use the Alliance OE Oxygen Sensor catalog every day. They trust it,” said John Sanford, vice president of purchasing for Auto-Wares Group of Companies and chairman of the product committee for the Alliance. “The new Alliance coil catalog helps counter staff and MyPlace4Parts customers find and deliver the best part for every application. It only made sense that we rolled out a similar program for ignition coils.” The program was developed in response to growing demand from consumers for exact replacements and from professional technicians for original equipment parts. “With so many sensors and electronic parts facilitating the operation of today’s modern vehicles, technicians are becoming increasingly selective about what parts they are willing to put onto a customer’s vehicle,” said Justin Hebert. “Everything on the vehicle must communicate and function in harmony with all of the other components. When a technician has to replace a failing part, he doesn’t want there to be any doubt that the new part will restore the system to operational efficiency and remove the error light.” To launch the program, the Alliance partnered with the four largest global OE Ignition Coil suppliers: Bosch, Delphi, Denso, and Hitachi. These four partners represent a significant portion of the OE business globally, and collectively offer an exhaustive knowledge of the specifications required for almost every engine platform in production today. Many of them have earned ignition coil OE business or OES (Original Equipment Supplier) business. Others improved on the OE design or corrected a known early failure point. In all cases, Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper’s new cataloging program ensures the vehicle’s ignition system will be restored to “like new” or “better than new” status. “We did some intensive market and category research that all pointed to ignition coils as the best place to start. They are a common failure point in the vehicle ignition system,” Hebert said. The new catalog covers more than 278 million vehicles in operations with OE, OES, or OE Specification ignition coils. It is Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper’s fourth blended program. The Alliance’s other programs include Oxygen Sensors (launched in 2013 in partnership with Bosch, Denso, and NTK); Fuel Pumps (kicked off in 2014 with Bosch, Denso, and Delphi); and Spark Plugs (announced in 2017 in collaboration with Bosch, Denso, and NGK Spark Plugs). This program is exclusive to Auto Value and Bumper to Bumper.