MAHLE Aftermarket’s ambitious product expansion plans for 2012 take on a new dimension this month with the launch of automotive air conditioning service units.
Through a strategic alliance forged last year with The Behr Group, the market leader in thermal management systems and service, MAHLE plans to import and distribute a new generation of Behr A/C system service units throughout the UK and Irish aftermarkets.
Behr has been closely involved in the vehicle air conditioning service business for more than 20 years and its service units are certified by most of the world’s leading OEMs, including BMW, Citroen, Fiat, GM, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo, plus the major truck manufacturers.
A/C service units will be available for the servicing of systems in cars, buses and trucks using R-134a, R744 and HFO1234yf refrigerants. The units are competitively priced, with on-site product training support from Behr technicians, a technical hotline, repair service and annual maintenance contracts.
In the French market, where Behr A/C service units have been supporting the independent service sector for many years, around 25,000 units are currently in operation. Three-quarters of all vehicle workshops there are equipped with A/C service units, and the renewal rate ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 units per year.
“France is a similar sized market to the UK with 36 million cars and LCVs on the road, 50% of them with air conditioning,” says MAHLE Aftermarket Managing Director Phill Everitt, “so we foresee similar potential here.
“The expansion of our product and service capability in vehicle climate control is a natural fit with MAHLE’s extensive range of cabin air filters for cars, light and heavy commercials, so we will be pushing hard to establish the Behr brand in this important sector of vehicle servicing in 2012,” he adds.
