Is It The End Of The Road For Counterfeit Spares In The Indian Automotive Aftermarket?

ACMA's latest solution aims to empower buyers to identify genuine or branded spares in the aftermarket

The Indian automotive spares aftermarket is a difficult place to shop. It comprises of 40 per cent OE (original equipment or manufacturer-branded) spares while the rest is either IAM (independent after market) branded parts or U-parts (parts from unorganised segment). IAM and U-parts are evenly present in the aftermarket.

The IAM parts are manufactured by Tier-I component makers and are closer to genuine parts w.r.t quality, and are therefore safe to use. U-parts can be substandard in quality and are available at very low prices. Spurious or counterfeit parts are usually a replica of OE/IAM parts, and are designed to be difficult to differentiate from genuine parts. These products are the primary cause of worry for the ACMA (Automotive Component Manufacturer's Association) and are the main reason why shopping in the aftermarket is tricky for a layperson.

The ACMA has been trying hard to catch spurious part makers and has managed to reduce the volume of such products in the aftermarket to 5 per cent. The next challenge for the component makers' body is to bring down the volume of substandard parts or U-parts. For this, the ACMA is now in the process of developing a catalogue which will list all the OE/IAM parts available in the aftermarket, along with the coordinates of the distribution channel(s). The catalogue is expected to be up on ACMA's site soon. It will be available for anyone looking for quality spares for his/her vehicle.

At the ACMA Automechanika India, Rama Shankar Pandey (MD, Hella India Lighting Ltd and co-chair, consumer affairs & anti-counterfeit committee, ACMA) told us: “This catalogue will allow only standard companies to put their part numbers and listings on it. So that way we organise the market and the sub-standard goes out if the end consumer decides to support this catalogue.”

The recently concluded ACMA Automechanika India saw over 550 exhibitors from 17 countries.