Earlier in the week, a new campaign titled ‘Genuine is Best’ was launched in Australia to spread awareness among vehicle owners on the dangers of installing counterfeit wheels. The campaign was promoted by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), with support from Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific and GM Holden.
As a recap, the campaign involved a demonstration at Holden’s Lang Lang proving ground, with units of the Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG and CLA 45 AMG Shooting Brake fitted with both genuine and counterfeit wheels. Said cars were then driven over a pothole at 50 km/h to demonstrate the build quality between both wheels, with the counterfeit wheels cracking severely.
However, the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association (AAAA) doesn’t see the campaign as fulfilling its suggested objective. Instead, the association describes that the “fake wheel test” as a self-serving “stunt” designed to mislead and scare the public.
In a statement posted on AAAA’s website, executive director Stuart Charity said, “these wheels should not have been imported into the country – they do not meet Australian Standards and would never have been sold by any reputable Australian wheel retailer.”
He added that illegal wheels used in the demonstration would never have passed through Australia’s border protection system, and those caught selling them should be prosecuted under consumer protection laws.
“The FCAI stunt was simply a scare campaign funded by the car industry as an advertisement for high profit margin car makers’ branded products. Unfortunately, it was also an expose´ on how to buy imported illegal products that do not meet Australian Standards.
“A more appropriate message would have been to educate consumers to ‘buy product that meets Australian Standards and is ‘fit for purpose’. Another important consumer message is ‘don’t buy safety critical car parts online from unknown vendors,” Charity added.
He also claims that products purchased from reputable automotive parts retailers that meet Australia’s Standards are able to match, and even exceed the quality levels of branded products from car manufacturers.
Charity also attacked the car industry by saying that the predictable outcomes of the test was to undermine the quality of aftermarket products to encourage consumers to pay for so-called ‘genuine’ parts that come at a premium price.
He goes on to point out the credibility of the test, “It is hard to believe that anyone owning a late model Mercedes Benz would suddenly have a desire to remove the original wheels, buy a set of cheap wheels from an online store and then fit them to their premium car.”
“Aftermarket and counterfeit products are not the same thing. The car companies should stop misleading the public with these stunts because this is not the way to build trust and respect with their customers. Aftermarket products sourced through reputable suppliers are subject to Australian Consumer Laws and have the same warranty protections as the expensive car company branded products,” said Stuart Charity.
What do you think of the AAAA’s claims? Do aftermarket automotive parts match up, or even exceed the branded parts sold by car manufacturers? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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tak main lah Australian kangaroo. Malaysia Proton lagi power, boleh lumba kat kesas kalau modify.
apa kau merepek ni
When the authority test against Proton genuine wheel and fake wheel, they will be in trouble, because both are equally junk quality.
That’s why you hardly see any Proton using original wheel on Malaysian road.
Same LOrrr,before you talk about Proton,see first all Vios in Malaysia,all using original alloy rims meh?No right.All using the fake one.Get a life bro.Vios,Camry pun tak ada ESC,nak banyak cerita
but it still makes sense for Malaysia.. Unlike Australia, very poor quality rims are still imported into our country with no regulations or controls and sell for cheap in large numbers.
Here are some tips when you buy rims:
1) Buy from reputable brands
2) Make very sure its ori (authorised dealer, holo sticker, warranty, etc)
3) Price: if its too good to be true then its fishy
4) Try get feedback from buyers of this dealer. May not be about rims only, other stuffs oso can
5) Shop around to get best bargain
Do these and most time you’ll get your rims at very favourable prices, regulations or no regulations.
Really? thought you drive on Mars… the quality should be top high-end Nasa quality. No need john to burden earth wheel quality…
Ohh. And here comes the uber economist who says a failed power window issue is a more serious problem than the one that can cause fire. Where have you been?
You dont need power window at Mars, you can’t even breath properly on Mars no needed power window for you… and again both brand make serious problem.
Hehe. Apparently only you live in Mars. We here on Earth are more grounded to reality than you :-P
Lol yet you can’t understand what earth people’s needs… cause you as a Martian never understand Malaysian suffer alot from the Government :)
Buy genuine parts only..
I have friends who bought original rims(but malaysian brand) and still cracked over potholes.in malaysia road condition are also to be blamed n not the rims alone
Good wheels rarely crack, they bend. Your friends bought some crappy wheels.
Yeap. I agree with the sentence aftermarket and counterfeit is not the same thing.however there are brands that counterfeited, so to spea, from original brands that first came up with the idea. Case in point, works bell steering hub. U have the choice of Taiwan made which is kinda flimsy, the better ones like sparco, NRG, etc. As a consumer you could feel the difference when you hold the really cheap ones and the really expensive ones in your hand. If its too good to be true it is 99.9% of time, counterfeit. Then there is the steering wheels and yes rims. Rims are easier to know, when you hit one of our potholes in msia, you will definitely know eventually that it’s fake… Potholes, they work hard to surprise since 1970s. It is very frustrating for those who seek used items, hoping for a bargain. We have to scour aroung and online to hopefully tell apart the fake and the genuine. At the end, don’t skimp when it comes to important components for the car; brakes, rims, more importantly chg your tires when it’s time! It saves lifes
hi gerard,
based on provided pictures of the back of the rims, which one is original? Made in China or the grinded off mand in Germany? I did’t really clearly understand on this part in the video.
My ex car of 14 years was using original factory equipped 16″ speedline rims. It have met the daily beats of KL roads, outstations trips and countless of “ouch” feelings when you hit some stupid potholes left behind by some shoddy council road contractors. Glad to says, I have never once encountered a damaged rims except for one tyre which got buldge on the sidewalls. There are temptations for me to upgrade my wheels to some aftermarket Taiwanese rims but I didn’t and I am glad I stick to it. When I sold it, I throw in a free balancing and alignment for the seller and there is no bend issue.
As for my other national car of 5 years, the rims got bend twice. And twice I have to buy a replacement wheels for it as I don’t believe in repairing it.
I am not here to says my speedline is god rims and it will never bend but knowing the difference in quality between a reputable rims maker and some Taiwanese rims or even local produced rims, don’t throw away your good factory rims (especially those branded rims) and replaced with some replicas.