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In an effort to tackle the menace of counterfeit spares, Tata Motors has launched a multi-pronged campaign against the sale of spurious spare parts, under the brand name of Tata Genuine Parts (TGP). Through this, the company aims to protect its customers from spurious parts.
As part of its enforcement campaign, Tata Motors launched nationwide raids to expose the burgeoning spurious spare parts business. So far, Tata Motors has conducted seven raids in and around Karnataka and around 125 raids across the country in the last six months on those predominantly selling counterfeit TGP, the company said in a statement.
The team, including the IPR enforcement, copyrights protection agencies, Tata Motors’ TGP team and the legal team, have been working to identify both manufacturing unit and selling outlets of counterfeit spares and packaging centres.
Based on complaints from Tata Motors’ sources, the local area police along with enforcement agencies launched raids against violators at Yadgir (Sri Sangameshwara Automobiles, Anand Automobiles, Chenna Basaveswara Automobiles); Mulbagal (MBS Automobiles, Super Automobiles); Kolar (Kolar Car Automobiles, S S Automobiles.
The most easily duplicated products include clutch parts, air / oil / fuel filters, belts, hoses, ball joints, seals, suspension items like liners and brake pads, gear parts, syncrocone, gaskets. For these, counterfeit packaging, labels and various other fast moving parts were being manufactured and distributed to the market from these locations.
Commenting on the initiative, Rajesh Bagga, Sr. Vice President – HR &Legal, Tata Motors, “The use of spurious parts poses a safety risk to consumers. Data shows that over 50 per cent of spares for all popular brands sold in the market are fake and unreliable. Studies also show that 70 per cent of consumers opt for fake spares instead of visiting authorised service centres, once the warranty period on the vehicle has expired.”
Customer Awareness is the key to curb sale of counterfeit products, he said adding that this prompted Tata Motors to conduct countrywide awareness campaigns about safety risks posed by spurious / counterfeit spare parts.
The TGP team has launched a series of pilfer-proof plastic packaging for gear and differential parts as well as laser marking with Tata Logo, a slew of packaging stickers and labels and the Tata Dhaal hologram on the packaging, as identification aids to provide customers with additional assurance when they buy Tata Motors spares. The company has also kick-started regular Mechanic and Retailer Meets and various outreach programs through the Spare Parts Distributors, educating the influencers and end customers on the various initiatives taken by the company to control the counterfeit parts.
