Interstate Batteries and Advance Auto Parts announce partnership

Advance Auto Parts Inc. and Interstate Batteries announced a strategic partnership Tuesday. Starting in the spring, Dallas-based Interstate Batteries, the replacement battery brand with the largest independent battery distribution system in North America, will become the exclusive automotive and specialty battery brand for Advance Auto Part stores and customers.

Roanoke-based Advance Auto Parts, which serves both professional installers and do-it-yourself customers, said it will debut a battery program with Interstate products at its more than 4,900 U.S. and international locations. The program will offer free battery testing and installation in stores.

Interstate products will be available initially at Advance’s company-owned stores and at independently owned Carquest stores. In the future, Advance Auto Parts subsidiaries Worldpac, Autopart International and Carquest Canada also will offer Interstate products.

“We are thrilled that Advance Auto Parts will be the only national auto parts retailer offering our customers the market-leading battery brand,” Tom Greco, president and CEO of Advance Auto Parts, said in a statement.  “….Together with Interstate we are positioned to increase market share in batteries and achieve growth. Long-term strategic partnerships with our suppliers are important, and this is a great example.”

“This alliance places us where our professional and retail customers are making purchasing decisions, allowing Advance Auto Parts and independent Carquest stores to serve as convenient, one-stop shops to meet our customers’ needs,” Scott Miller, president and CEO of Interstate Batteries, said in a statement.

Together, the companies said they plan to recycle more than 30 million batteries per year.