TROY, Mich.- Meritor Automotive is pulling out of FleetWorks.com, the business-to-business (B2B) Internet-based venture the company was spearheading for the commercial truck parts aftermarket.

FleetWorks.com, designed to bring U.S. truck parts buyers and sellers together in one comprehensive electronic marketplace by summer’s end, was set up to operate independently from Meritor. Accel Partners, a venture capital firm, and Gen3 Partners, a firm specializing in building and launching e-business strategies, are partners in the venture.

However, Meritor held the majority stake in the operation, which is headed by a former Meritor executive. That was creating concerns about whether Meritor products and distributors would be given preferential treatment. Those concerns forced the company to rethink the issue

“Complete neutrality is key to the success of any vertical exchange concept. As an industry supplier and majority partner, appropriate neutrality in this case could not be reached, based on the broad industry feedback that we’ve received since FleetWorks.com was announced,” said Meritor chairman and CEO Larry Yost in a statement released on the company’s Internet site. “As such, Meritor has decided not to participate.” n