SK Networks, part of the South Korean SK group, said it had completed spinning off its vehicle maintenance operations into a new company called SK Speedmate which began operating under the new name on 1 September, providing aftermarket spare parts and maintenance services.

The spin off was expected to allow the company to become more efficient by speed up decision making.

SK Speedmate operates 600 service centres, offering services such as vehicle maintenance, emergency roadside assistance and tyre and other spare parts distribution.

The company is eyeing new deals with other automotive industry companies to help expand its range of services to include distribution of spare parts for imported vehicles and repair accident damaged vehicles.

SK Networks, the local holding company, said it would continue to spin off non core operations to focus more on the high tech sector, particularly companies operating in artificial intelligence (AI).