Automotive components, particularly these supposed for premium automobiles, and particularly these made by the unique gear producer (OEM), might be costly. So it is perhaps tempting to leap on an affordable half while you discover one on-line. Mercedes is warning, although, that you just won’t need to.

The automaker studies that in 2021 alone, authorities seized greater than 1.86 million counterfeit Mercedes-Benz merchandise in additional than 650 raids. That’s a rise of six % over the earlier 12 months.

“The counterfeiting business has organized crime constructions and sometimes generates greater income than drug trafficking,” mentioned Renata Jungo Brüngger, Mercedes’ head of authorized affairs. “We’re working intently with authorities around the globe to be able to curtail these constructions and fight threats to highway security.”

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By way of the pandemic, Mercedes says that counterfeiters have more and more moved on-line. Utilizing social media channels, teams can put up components on-line and promote them rapidly, making these strategies very tough to police towards.

That’s why Mercedes says it’s increasing its strategic and operational measures to combat counterfeit merchandise and the net commerce in them. The corporate’s efforts can be based mostly round three measures: detect, assault, and stop. To that finish, it will likely be assigning “model safety consultants” to sniffing out suspicious provides on-line.

“The buying and selling in counterfeit merchandise on on-line platforms and social media is additional rising,” mentioned Jungo Brüngger. “Our model safety consultants have rapidly tailored to the counterfeiting business’s rising enterprise mannequin. In 2021, greater than 126,000 counterfeit merchandise had been faraway from on-line platforms.”

If Mercedes’ dedication to this appears slightly excessive to you, it might not after you be taught that some counterfeiters promote structural car components that might be of decrease high quality than a real half. The automaker claims, in actual fact, that the standard of those components is commonly so poor that they don’t even meet minimal authorized security necessities like an aftermarket half may, placing drivers in danger.

Elements are sometimes additionally produced underneath inhumane circumstances. In some circumstances, environmental requirements, occupational requirements, and even human rights will not be revered, making these operations essential to close down.

It may be onerous for purchasers to know whether or not they’re getting real components or not, however Mercedes says that patrons ought to look out for terribly low costs and mustn’t purchase from doubtful on-line sources.