[Auto] A2C2 warns of counterfeit auto parts in new white paper

[_Happy boy]

Founded in 2015, the organization represents a joint effort by 10 automaker conglomerates representing nearly 30 makes altogether. It works with law enforcement and online marketplaces and has trained more than 1,000 officers with agencies like Customs and the FBI.

According to the A2C2, the organization has been focusing on mass-market e-commerce marketplaces, not the B2B parts procurement systems used by automotive professionals. But it seems the automotive aftermarket should still be aware of the issue highlighted here. It suggests some due diligence might be in order when a mechanic or body shop encounters a customer who shows up with parts in hand and requests the repairer install them.

“Consumers are most vulnerable to purchasing counterfeits through these e-commerce marketplaces, but there is also concern that some repair shops may be going that route for some of their purchases as well,” the A2C2 wrote in an email Nov. 18. “For them, A2C2 emphasizes the importance of knowing and trusting your source and utilizing reputable supply chains.”

“Consumers are unaware that some products on online marketplaces are counterfeit,” the A2C2 wrote in the white paper. “Many consumers believe that the offerings online are more akin to brick-and-mortar retailers. Many do not realize the lack of regulation of the third-party sellers and thus are unknowingly putting themselves or their customers (in the case of automotive repair shops) at risk.”

It’s important to note that the A2C2 isn’t challenging grey market parts, such as a component an automaker produces for one country that are purchased by a customer in another nation.

(However, importers and suppliers should be sure they can trust their business partners. It’s possible counterfeits can work their way into such shipments. “As with all counterfeits, quantifying the problem is difficult, but counterfeit automotive parts have been commingled with legitimate OEM parts coming from foreign markets, such as those considered ‘gray market,'” the A2C2 wrote in an email. “A2C2 doesn’t deal at all with gray market parts, but law enforcement has discovered counterfeits hidden in such shipments from foreign markets.”)

A2C2 also isn’t attacking aftermarket parts, which might match an automaker’s specifications but are clearly sold under their own third-party brand names — not an OEM’s.

Rather, the A2C2 is calling out examples of out-and out fraud: Parts which aren’t commissioned or produced by the OEM for any market, but are misrepresented as official OEM products anyway.

For example, the white paper describes an alleged counterfeiting operation which allegedly attached wheel center caps with unauthorized copies of automaker logos to aftermarket wheels. It then allegedly sold the finished products as genuine OEM originals. The A2C2 also mentioned a 2019 China raid which found 163,476 allegedly counterfeit airbags and cited a KTVT report of an allegedly counterfeit Kia airbag assembly Tracy Law Firm attorney Todd Tracy said lacked an airbag.

“According to the FY 2017-2019 U.S. Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement, counterfeit automotive parts are wide-ranging,” the A2C2 wrote. (Emphasis A2C2’s.) “The list of seized parts includes airbags, brake pads, wheels, seat belts, oil and air filters, control arms, windshields, bearings, steering linkages, ignition coils, microchips, spark plugs, solenoids, clutch housings, crankshafts, diagnostic equipment, suspension parts, oil pumps and more.”