Shane Evangelist, who developed and launched the online movie rental business of Blockbuster Inc., has left Blockbuster to take over as CEO of U.S. Auto Parts Network Inc., an online seller of auto parts and accessories, U.S. Auto Parts said today. Evangelist succeeds Mehran Nia, who has served as president and CEO since founding U.S. Auto Parts has in 1995. Nia will continue to serve on the board of directors.

Evangelist, who was senior vice president and general manager of Blockbuster Online as well as vice president of strategic planning for Blockbuster Inc., has left Blockbuster at a time when it has been making some online market gains as it struggles to catch up to rival Netflix Inc.

But he says he sees strong growth opportunities in the online auto parts market. “As a pioneer in the online auto parts market, U.S. Auto Parts is poised to drive a greater share of the $94 billion aftermarket auto parts market online, he says. “I am excited about joining U.S. Auto Parts at this time of great opportunity and believe the company is uniquely positioned to lead this growing online industry.”

“Shane has built a terrific e-commerce track record in an extremely competitive environment and has a wide ranging background in finance, strategic planning, marketing and management, says Robert Majteles, chairman of U.S. Auto Parts. We believe that Shane is ideally suited to lead U.S. Auto Parts in our next phase of growth as we continue our rapid expansion and further establish U.S. Auto Parts as the leader in the online auto parts market.”

U.S. Auto Parts is No. 81 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide; Blockbuster is No. 51.