MEMA Featured on CBS Evening News Speaking Out Against Counterfeit Auto Parts

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., July 1 -- The issue of controlling counterfeit motor vehicle parts continues to receive increased attention as evidenced by the June 25 "CBS Evening News" Consumer Report that focused on fakes and dangerous consumer products. The Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), North America's largest trade association of motor vehicle product manufacturers, estimates the problem to be at least a $3 billion problem in the United States and $12 billion globally.

Brian Duggan, MEMA director of international programs, was interviewed for the segment and spoke to the high quality of today's counterfeit products. "The parts are getting so good that they are making their way into what we would normally consider legitimate distribution channels," said Duggan, who displayed a variety of fake parts ranging from brake pads to tensioners.

The news segment focused on dangerous electronics products such as extension cords and cell phone batteries but went on to discuss how dangerous counterfeit products may appear unknowingly under the hood of the family car. The segment referred to how brake pads have been found with compressed grass or wood in place of friction material.

"This is certainly an issue that consumers should be aware of," said Paul Foley, vice president of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), MEMA's aftermarket segment. "This has been a serious issue that has caused American manufacturers business and jobs both overseas and domestically, but now it is becoming a public safety issue."

MEMA has escalated its work on the issue by forming a Brand Protection Council, a forum for member company representatives to discuss how to best attack this problem both as individual companies and as an industry. MEMA has also worked with Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-Mich.) to introduce a bill that strengthens the criminal penalties for auto parts counterfeiting.

For more information on this issue, contact Neal Zipser of MEMA at 919-406-8811 or media@mema.org .

MEMA (http://www.mema.org/ ) exclusively serves the aftermarket and original equipment automotive and heavy duty product manufacturing industry. MEMA supports its members through its three market segment associations: Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association (AASA), Heavy Duty Manufacturers Association (HDMA) and Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA).