Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter, “Marubeni”) has acquired additional shares in Radial Llantas S.A.P.I. de C.V. (hereinafter, “RL”), a Mexican car maintenance company in which it participated in 2016. With the current acquisition of shares, Marubeni has increased its stake in RL from 49% to 80%, thereby making it a subsidiary.

RL is the largest independent car maintenance chain in Mexico. Its services include the sale and replacement of tires and other consumables and the provision of related maintenance. Since October 2016, when Marubeni first invested in the company, RL’s network of stores has increased from 54 to 85. Marubeni has contributed to the expansion of RL’s store network and the growth of its business by dispatching management personnel and providing business know-how, which it has previously cultivated through its activities in this domain in the ASEAN region.

Mexico has a population of approximately 130 million people, making it the second largest economy in Latin America. Economic development in the country is forecast to continue due to the expansion of the demographic of median income earners, with stable growth in automobile ownership and the car maintenance market also expected. Through the acquisition of RL as a subsidiary, Marubeni aims to further expand its car maintenance business in Mexico by expediting the expansion of its product lineup and maintenance services catering to the actual needs of consumers.

This share acquisition also builds on Marubeni’s previous successes in this domain, which include acquiring shares in Thailand’s largest independent car maintenance company, B-Quik Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, “BQ”) in 2006 and subsequently expanding BQ’s business overseas to Cambodia and Indonesia. In 2020, BQ acquired a controlling interest in PT. Oto Internasional (now PT. BQuik Otomotif Indonesia), a company which has been actively engaged in the direct-to-customer car maintenance business. Currently, Marubeni has more than 300 directly-managed stores in the car maintenance business worldwide and has achieved a significant expansion from the level of 44 stores when Marubeni invested in BQ in 2006.* Marubeni aims to further expand its car maintenance business by utilizing the business know-how it has accumulated over the years and by continuing to promote the expansion of its network of stores in the respective regions in which it operates.

*85 stores in Mexico, 212 stores in Thailand, 21 stores in Indonesia, and two stores in Cambodia (as of July 31, 2023).

RL Company Profile
Company Name:	Radial Llantas S.A.P.I. de C.V.
Location:	Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico
Established:	1971
Capital:	425 million Mexican pesos
Representative:	Eduardo Gonzalez Luna Silva
Number of stores:	85
Main Business:	Sales and maintenance service for automotive parts and peripherals including tires, batteries, and oil

Related Release
October 24, 2016
Regarding investment and participation in the Tire Distribution Business in Mexico
https://www.marubeni.com/en/news/2016/release/00048.html