Today, the Auto International Association (AIA), a segment of the Auto Care Association, officially announced it has changed its name to the Import Vehicle Community. For more than a year, the segment’s leadership has conducted an extensive rebranding initiative, culminating in the formal name change announcement made today during the segment’s annual Awards Luncheon.
“It has never been a more exciting or challenging time than now to be in the import nameplate vehicle parts business, and this new brand and logo reflect our enthusiasm and renewed focus on delivering real value to our members,” said Ira Davis, chairman of the Import Vehicle Community. “Our brand transformation better represents where this segment of the industry is today and our vision for the future.”
Following a series of strategic planning sessions, the AIA’s Executive Leadership Council (ELC) concluded that its name and brand are no longer in line with the rebranded Auto Care Association. From consolidations to expansions, and from new competitors to changing distribution models, the import nameplate vehicle parts business looks pretty different than it did when AIA was founded in 1981. To address this issue, the ELC embarked on a rebranding effort of its own to better define and communicate the segment’s core objectives and value proposition to members. In doing so, they sought to accomplish three primary goals:
- Simplify member engagement with the segment’s brand.
- Remove confusion or perception of “competition” between associations.
- Provide an opportunity to re-launch and redefine the segment’s value proposition.
The New Import Vehicle Community
The Import Vehicle Community is the segment of the Auto Care Association that is hyper-focused on serving the needs of all business engaged in import nameplate products and services. Irrespective of the business’ size or share of the business devoted to import nameplate products and services, the
Import Vehicle Segment’s benefit is unchanged. The association develops and delivers opportunities to increase member businesses’ profitability and prospects. Correspondingly, the group works to remove obstacles to member businesses’ profitability and prospects.
