Toyota Australia is encouraging customers to buy parts from an authorised dealer, after uncovering hundreds of cases of counterfeit parts being sold in the last two years.
More than 100 cases of fake parts and accessories being touted as Genuine Toyota Parts have been stopped, ranging from bogus badges and floor mats, to unsafe counterfeit brake pads.
Head of public affairs, Brodie Bott, says Toyota Australia takes a multi-pronged approach to stop the sale of counterfeit parts and accessories.
“Our Brand Protection team works closely with the Australian Border Force (ABF) to train their officers to identify and stop shipments of counterfeit parts and accessories from entering Australia,” Mr Bott said.
“We always try to determine the source of the counterfeit parts and work closely with Toyota affiliates overseas to stop the parts at the source.”
Bott says Toyota Australia regularly carries out test purchases of parts marketed as ‘Toyota Genuine’ from online platforms.
“Based on our monitoring and investigations, we have found that if you buy online and it is not from an authorised dealer, there is a 35% chance you are buying a counterfeit part.”
Counterfeit parts are a huge risk to public safety, he says.
“Counterfeit parts are often packaged up to look like genuine Toyota parts with Toyota’s logo, but they have not been designed, developed or tested for Toyota vehicles or to safety standards.”
Using counterfeit parts could cause expensive damage that won’t be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty, Bott says.
“Toyota Genuine Parts sourced from authorised Australian Toyota dealers are the only parts approved and warranted by Toyota, and the only way to guarantee that the parts you are buying are genuine is to source them from one of Toyota Australia’s national network of over 285 authorised dealers.”
For more information visit: genuineisbest.com.au.
