Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and GM crack down on counterfeiters

Conducted across five days in early March, a total of eight enforcement raids were carried out, resulting in the seizure of 476 windscreens, 453 side glass pieces, 649 ACDelco brake parts, 113 ACDelco shock absorbers, 61 GMC/Chevrolet grilles and 27,877 ACDelco oil filters.

"The raids were a culmination of two years' work in Kuwait," said Warren Hayday, Manager of Investigations for GM Latin America Africa Middle East (LAAM). "The Kuwait Ministry of Commerce, with whom we have been closely associated since we began operations in this market, has been an invaluable partner in our ongoing campaign to stamp out the counterfeit market."

"The counterfeit market is a very serious problem - it poses a severe threat to our local economy and to the driving safety of the local community," said a spokesman for the Kuwait Ministry of Commerce. "Over the past two years we have invested in joint staff training initiatives with GM and community awareness projects as well as conducting surprise raids of suspected counterfeit operations in our ongoing quest to conquer the issue."

According to the latest statistics, the number of counterfeit parts available in the Middle East now encompasses 20 per cent of the total spare parts market. To help regional authorities counteract the problem, General Motors has introduced full time positions in the Middle East to address the problem through community education and working with local law enforcement agencies to expose counterfeit operations.

The profusion of counterfeit auto parts across the world is a serious threat to manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike. Counterfeiters are becoming increasingly savvy, pricing products just below genuine parts and utilizing sophisticated packaging and labeling to make them less noticeable, which makes it increasingly difficult for consumers to spot fakes.