JEDDAH: The Ministry of Commerce and Investment has announced the seizure of a warehouse in Riyadh used to counterfeit auto spare parts, especially air and oil filters.
The counterfeiters would change the country of origin, market them as genuine parts and sell them at prices close to the prices of the genuine products. The ministry said its inspectors have destroyed 195,000 packs carrying counterfeit trademarks in addition to 35,000 air and oil filters being modified and their country of origin labeled fraudulently.
Meanwhile, complaints of dealers in the auto spare parts market have increased over imitation spare parts with the steady increase of prices of genuine parts. Despite the risks associated with the use of imitation parts, they remain an option for many customers due to their lower prices, which may be less than 60 percent of the original prices, dealers said.
Ali Ahmed, a dealer in genuine parts for Japanese cars, said imitation and fake spare parts, such as engine belts, filters, and bumpers, are openly sold in stores.
He said the fake and imitation parts are put in packs to look like the genuine ones and are sold as the genuine article.
Fadil Al-Qarni, a Saudi citizen, said a large number of customers become victims of imitation parts while some buy them knowingly.
Dealers, who asked for anonymity, said some stores buy genuine parts called "damaged stock” from their authorized dealers at half the original price. The authorized dealer (agent) cannot sell parts without their original packs and, accordingly, some stores buy these parts and make arrangements with printing houses to print new packs carrying the same product numbers to be sold to customers at higher prices. Some imitation parts are put inside these packs, the dealers said.
Additionally, some store owners make arrangements with car repair shops whereby the latter will sell empty spare part packs to the store owners who, in turn, puts imitation parts in the empty packs and sells them as genuine parts, they said.
Faisal Al-Mastouri, a Saudi citizen, called for the introduction of regulations on the import of imitation spare parts which are sold as genuine parts.
Fahad Al-Qahtani, another citizen, said traders have many ways in dealing in imitation spare parts, notably by obtaining an invoice from an authorized car dealer for getting genuine parts worth SR100,000 to prove his integrity before customers.
But this is insignificant as compared to the bigger operation of packing imitation spare parts into the packet of genuine parts and selling them at a discount, he said.
He suggested a massive awareness campaign to enlighten customers about the risks involved in using imitation parts. Customers should also insist on being supplied with a guarantee card that comes with all genuine parts.
The counterfeiters would change the country of origin, market them as genuine parts and sell them at prices close to the prices of the genuine products. The ministry said its inspectors have destroyed 195,000 packs carrying counterfeit trademarks in addition to 35,000 air and oil filters being modified and their country of origin labeled fraudulently.
Meanwhile, complaints of dealers in the auto spare parts market have increased over imitation spare parts with the steady increase of prices of genuine parts. Despite the risks associated with the use of imitation parts, they remain an option for many customers due to their lower prices, which may be less than 60 percent of the original prices, dealers said.
Ali Ahmed, a dealer in genuine parts for Japanese cars, said imitation and fake spare parts, such as engine belts, filters, and bumpers, are openly sold in stores.
He said the fake and imitation parts are put in packs to look like the genuine ones and are sold as the genuine article.
Fadil Al-Qarni, a Saudi citizen, said a large number of customers become victims of imitation parts while some buy them knowingly.
Dealers, who asked for anonymity, said some stores buy genuine parts called "damaged stock” from their authorized dealers at half the original price. The authorized dealer (agent) cannot sell parts without their original packs and, accordingly, some stores buy these parts and make arrangements with printing houses to print new packs carrying the same product numbers to be sold to customers at higher prices. Some imitation parts are put inside these packs, the dealers said.
Additionally, some store owners make arrangements with car repair shops whereby the latter will sell empty spare part packs to the store owners who, in turn, puts imitation parts in the empty packs and sells them as genuine parts, they said.
Faisal Al-Mastouri, a Saudi citizen, called for the introduction of regulations on the import of imitation spare parts which are sold as genuine parts.
Fahad Al-Qahtani, another citizen, said traders have many ways in dealing in imitation spare parts, notably by obtaining an invoice from an authorized car dealer for getting genuine parts worth SR100,000 to prove his integrity before customers.
But this is insignificant as compared to the bigger operation of packing imitation spare parts into the packet of genuine parts and selling them at a discount, he said.
He suggested a massive awareness campaign to enlighten customers about the risks involved in using imitation parts. Customers should also insist on being supplied with a guarantee card that comes with all genuine parts.
