Spotlight 7 www.aftermarketonline.net SEPTEMBER 2024 Auto giant Mercedes-Benz revealed on August 7 it was working with agencies including law enforcement authorities in a crackdown on counterfeit car parts amid concern over safety. In May and June 2023, paper air filters were seized that can cause serious accidents after installation. Counterfeit brake parts, wheels as well as body and steering parts were also seized. The counterfeit parts were destroyed after seizure, but last year alone the authorities seized more than 1.6 million MercedesBenz counterfeits in over 740 raids worldwide. The number of raids increased significantly by almost 20% compared to the previous year. Renata Jungo Brüngger, Mercedes-Benz board of management member for integrity, governance and sustainability said: “The counterfeiting industry generates enormous margins and has the structures of organised crime. “It endangers road safety, takes no account of the environment and stands neither for fair wages nor for occupational safety. There are no quality controls.” Brüngger said the company is determined to protect the reputation of its brand and also to protect its customers and legitimate supply chain. To date, in cooperation with the authorities, the car maker has been able to track down many counterfeit factories directly, Brüngger said. Raids are often preceded by months of investigation and preparation. The brand protectors at Mercedes-Benz check offers on websites, investigate indications of counterfeiting and conduct intensive research to identify the factories of the counterfeiters. The team makes the results available to the authorities responsible for conducting raids. In order to reliably detect product counterfeits, a trained eye and many years of experience are necessary, because a counterfeit often hardly differs visually from a genuine part. Mercedes-Benz said its global intellectual property enforcement team are repeatedly called in by authorities to quickly verify counterfeit parts. In 2023, an average of more than two raids per day took place worldwide. Counterfeiting networks are increasingly moving to online platforms and social media in order to distribute counterfeit products on a large scale. When trading, counterfeiters use the extensive anonymity and decentralised nature of online marketplaces and technologies. In 2023, the company’s brand protectors deleted more than 142,000 offers of counterfeit MercedesBenz products and content infringing trademark rights. Typical counterfeit product ‘alarm signals’ for parts buyers can include significantly lower prices, abnormalities in product quality or sales via dubious online sources. In some cases, it is immediately apparent from the product images or the designations that the products cannot be genuine, such as if Mercedes-Benz does not manufacture the products. However, the layperson will hardly be able to visually distinguish many of the offers from genuine products, the company said. belts to more common items such as floor mats and emblems, can compromise vehicle safety and performance. Counterfeit automotive spare parts not only infringe intellectual property rights but also endanger lives by compromising the safety and reliability of vehicles. According to EUIPO, investigations have shown that the majority of these counterfeit goods originate from outside Europe, with China (94%) and Hong Kong (5%) being the primary sources. This influx of counterfeit parts includes critical components like airbags, windshields, and accelerator pedals. “Meanwhile, the rise of online sales, including social media platforms, e-marketplaces, and various websites, has contributed to a surge in the availability of counterfeit automotive parts,” EUIPO said. “Online sales now account for 60% of global seizures of dangerous products intended for the EU market. The convenience of online shopping, combined with the lower risk of detection for counterfeiters and the trend of shipping in small batches, has made the internet a hotbed for counterfeit automotive parts.” The automotive industry is a strategic sector in many European and non-European countries and for that sector, profit is proportionally very small in relation to the investment made. This makes the sector even more sensitive to intellectual property rights infringement. In 2022, Spain’s Guarda Civil and Europol co-led ‘Operation Spare-off’ to tackle the counterfeit issue. Eighteen countries took part, including the UK. Mercedes-Benz safety drive to protect brand
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