Cadillac Europe & KW Parts
Explore how Europe’s leading distributor of American auto parts and a General Motors subsidiary drove innovation in automotive ecommerce — launching distinct yet complementary B2B and B2C storefronts across 30 countries.
4M+
products across catalogs
30
countries powered by Virto Commerce
2
business models (B2B + B2C)
1 sec
average indexing & search speed
Key Achievement
Virto Commerce and Mardi Gras transformed KW Parts’ digital ecosystem into a headless, modular platform serving B2B clients across 30 countries, then used that same foundation to launch Cadillac Europe’s B2C webstore in just three months post-design approval.
“
Together with Virto Commerce and Mardi Gras, we have now laid the foundation for a scalable platform to streamline our administrative processes with a backend that can be deployed for several ecommerce stores.
Linda HedbergeCommerce Manager, KW Parts
Challenge
Following its 2024 four-year partnership extension with General Motors, KW Parts needed to modernize its ecommerce architecture to support both its existing B2B business and a new Cadillac Europe B2C launch.
As GM rolls out its all-electric vehicle portfolio across Europe, KW Parts also needed to be ready to scale distribution, logistics, and technical support for new product lines.
Solution
After a thorough audit of KW Parts’ existing architecture, Mardi Gras selected Virto Commerce and implemented a headless, modular platform, creating distinct but complementary storefronts for both brands. Three capabilities were central:
- Headless approach and scalability: Virto’s Commerce Engine handles all business logic and product enrichment on the backend, while both storefronts are customized independently
- Seamless third-party integrations: API-first architecture enables ERP integration for KW Parts, Elastic search indexing for fast retrieval across the 4M catalog, and a Briqpay payment module for Cadillac’s B2C checkout
- Fast time-to-market across regions: KW Parts’ primary B2B ecosystem was established first, then used as the foundation for Cadillac Europe’s B2C store
Result
Both storefronts are live and serving European markets. Key outcomes include:
- Cadillac Europe B2C webstore launched three months after design approval
- Transactions supported in EUR and SEK with automatic currency updates
- Search results delivered in under 1 second across a 4 million-product catalog
- Centralized payment admin via Briqpay handles all payment orders regardless of payment vendor
One platform, two brands, two models
Cadillac Europe B2C live in 3 months
Automatic currency updates across 30 countries
B2C-like experience for wholesale B2B
Business Benefits
- KW Parts’ B2B digital ecosystem serves as a reusable foundation for future storefronts — a critical structural advantage as GM expands its EV portfolio across Europe.
- Decoupled frontend-backend architecture means both brands can evolve their storefronts independently — new design, new market, new brand — without touching the commerce engine.
- Elastic integration indexes the 4M-product catalog and delivers sub-second search.
- Briqpay centralized payment interface gives admins a single view of all payment orders regardless of payment method or vendor, reducing reconciliation effort.
- Umbraco CMS integration for Cadillac gives the brand team direct content control without relying on KW Parts’ workflows or infrastructure.
