Stellantis Is Launching a Cheaper Parts Brand To Maintain Old Cars

Stellantis, the automaker conglomerate formerly known as Fiat Chrysler, is introducing a factory-endorsed aftermarket parts brand to North America. In a sense, it's undercutting its own OEM parts catalog. As a big DIY guy, I find this very interesting. But even from a broader auto industry perspective, it's not insignificant.

When you're buying replacement parts to maintain an aging car, you've basically got three lanes to pick from: You can get OEM parts straight from the automaker (most expensive, but typically the best-made and best-fitting), you can go for a range of established aftermarket options (stuff that's consistently recommended on forums, stuff stocked by reputable auto parts stores), or you can fire up Amazon and get the cheapest version of what you're looking for in two days.

The savviest wrenchers can explore a fourth option: Hunting for the OEM part from the supplier rather than the automaker. For example, a Honda oxygen sensor is probably made by Denso, and you can sometimes get the OE part cheaper if you can find the Denso-labeled item at a wholesaler like RockAuto.

In my experience, you pretty much get what you pay for. I tend to pick my car part price point based on how critical the device is and how hard it is to replace. MAF sensor on the Civic I'm having professionally tuned? Yeah, I'll spring for the OEM part. Windshield washer pump I might activate a few times a year? Whatever, grab what's readily available on Prime shipping and save $40.

So circling back to the Stellantis news—automakers are obviously watching their industry with hawk eyes and can see that our nation's collective fleet of cars is aging and the aftermarket support business is likely to expand. Clearly, Stellantis also knows that not everybody driving old Challengers can stomach the high price of OEM parts. But it doesn't want to miss out on the money to be made from keeping old cars alive. Hell, if anybody knows about making money from keeping old cars alive, it's the maker of the Challenger and its ilk.