The number of raids increased significantly by almost 20 percent compared to the previous year
Stuttgart, Germany—Mercedes-Benz is working against counterfeiters in close cooperation with trade supervisory and law enforcement authorities on safety-related counterfeits, which can be a danger to all road users if they do not have the quality of genuine parts.
In 2023 alone, the authorities seized more than 1.6 million Mercedes-Benz counterfeits in over 740 raids worldwide. In May and June last year, paper air filters, counterfeit brake parts, wheels as well as body and steering parts, were seized and destroyed. The number of raids increased significantly by almost 20 percent compared to the previous year. An average of more than two raids per day took place worldwide.
Rims after stress test: Original (left) and counterfeit (right).
“The counterfeiting industry generates enormous margins and has the structures of organized crime,” said Renata Jungo Brüngger, member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG for Integrity, Governance & Sustainability. “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. By taking action against these highly criminal structures consistently and with all legal means, we protect not only the reputation of our brand, but also our customers, other road users and ultimately all victims of the counterfeiting industry. In close cooperation with the authorities, we were able to track down many counterfeit factories directly.”
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, said Brüngger, adding that the global Intellectual Property Enforcement Team at Mercedes-Benz are repeatedly called in by authorities to quickly verify counterfeit parts.
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. Mercedes-Benz stated that it is continuously expanding its strategic and operational anti-counterfeiting measures, including in online retail.
In 2023, the brand protectors have deleted over 142,000 offers of counterfeit Mercedes-Benz products and content infringing trademark rights. The brand protection strategy is based on three pillars: tracking down, attacking and preventing. Mercedes-Benz brand protectors regularly support custom authorities and service providers with training events and provide information material to raise awareness.
How to avoid counterfeit products?
A few simple criteria can help repair shops and consumers avoid falling for counterfeit products. Mercedes-Benz stated that this starts with the careful examination of conspicuous offers in everyday (online) life. Typical alarm signals to identify potential counterfeit products are 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, for example if Mercedes-Benz does not manufacture these products itself. However, the layperson will hardly be able to visually distinguish many of the offers from genuine products.
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