HOUSTON — As Shell expands into mobile fueling, it is gaining a foothold in mobile car maintenance with a strategic investment in Get Spiffy Inc.
Get Spiffy, which launched in 2014, through its mobile app offers on-demand hand car washes, detailing, oil changes and tire replacements to consumers, office parks and fleets in 20 U.S. cities. To schedule a wash or detail, customers select a date and time for the service and provide payment via the app. Get Spiffy's business-to-consumer services are available in Atlanta; Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; and Los Angeles. It services fleets in Chicago; Denver; Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Miami, Orlando and Tampa, Fla.; Las Vegas; Newark, N.J.; New York; Philadelphia; Phoenix; San Francisco; Seattle; and Washington, D.C.
Shell’s corporate venture capital arm, Shell Ventures, made the investment in Get Spiffy. The major oil company launched its own mobile fueling service, Shell TapUp, in 2017 in the Netherlands, and introduced it to the United States in Houston and Seattle in 2019. It now plans to expand Shell TapUp to three new U.S. markets in 2020, the company told CSP Daily News. Shell TapUp offers services to fleets and consumers, including windshield, tire and car cleaning.
With the investment in Get Spiffy, Shell has an opportunity to extend the mobile service model to oil changes with its motor oil products.
"We are looking forward to the collaboration opportunities that accompany our investment in Spiffy,” said Jim McCormick, vice president of U.S. lubricants sales for Houston-based Shell Oil Products. “In addition to transitioning Spiffy's oil change customers to our Pennzoil and Shell Rotella brand products, we can co-develop new customer value propositions with Spiffy that are tailored to our customers' needs."
"We see a lot of value in the convenient and efficient services that Spiffy can offer for car owners and fleets owners alike," said Brian Panoff, investment director for Shell Ventures. "Their experience in emerging fleet services, such as online and peer-to-peer car sharing, ride-sharing and e-commerce auto sales, aligns well with our focus on the changing nature of vehicle transportation and ownership."
Spiffy employs trained and uniformed W2 technicians who provide on-site services out of fully equipped vans, according to the company. It recycles used water, oil and tires as part of its Spiffy Green eco-friendly initiative.
"Spiffy was founded to bring a convenience-oriented and eco-friendly focus to the car wash and detail market,” said Scot Wingo, CEO of the Raleigh, N.C.-based company. “Over the last five years, this has expanded towards a total car care solution, covering oil change, tires and other maintenance services. Establishing this new partnership with Shell is pivotal as we look to expand our service offerings for existing customers and fleets as well as introduce Spiffy to new markets."
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