Bought any branded tyres on the cheap recently? Well, if you did, they could well be cloned or not certified, which could mean you’re going about on tyres that aren’t quite what they seem, despite looking the part.
The problem isn’t new, but the magnitude of it at this point might be. That’s because of the discovery of stacks of sticker labels in a warehouse in Shah Alam that was raided by authorities earlier this week, the New Straits Times reports.
The raid was part of Ops Grip, which saw a multi-agency task force led by the Malaysian anti-corruption commission (MACC) making simultaneous raids at 23 locations across the Klang Valley, Penang and Johor. A total of 17,672 tyres were seized from various locations, including warehouses and tyre storage containers.
The sticker labels are supposed to be affixed to brand new tyres when they leave the manufacturing line at a factory, and their discovery prompted the commission to meet with transport and domestic trade ministry officials as well as industry players to establish the severity of the problem, given that the scope has moved beyond just that of suspected tyre smuggling and falsifying import documents.
The discussion, which happened earlier today, was to ascertain how far such tyres have infiltrated the Malaysian market. “The agenda of the meeting is to discuss the way forward after the discovery of suspected cloned tyres as well as tyres which may not be certified by governing bodies,” a source told the publication.
According to the source, it was possible that some of the cheaper tyres seized during the raids were not certified at all. “Some of the tyres seized could have the certified United Nations E-Mark and United States Department of Transportation mark branded into the rubber during the manufacturing process without possessing the actual certification,” the source said.
Following the raids, the commission also asked industry players to visit the raided sites so they could understand the issues more closely and expedite solutions. At least eight leading international and local tyre manufacturers inspected several tyre storage warehouses earlier today.
According to a follow-up NST report, companies present in the inspection included Michelin, Bridgestone, Toyo, Continental, Goodyear, Yokohama, Maxxis and Pirelli. These companies also deployed their own technical teams to check various aspects of their products, particularly with regards to their authenticity. Some of the issues detected included tampered production dates, tampered tyre sticker labels as well as suspected smuggled tyres.
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they probably would sell the tyres at the same price of the originals
This should teach tyre manufacturers a lesson. Tyre prices shot up so much in the past 10 years with no real logic behind the increase. High prices are an invitation for those immitations to be produced.
tyres prices shot up because imported tyres they are taxed by malaysian govt.
how much is the tax?
So now wonder those tyres people changed in tyre shops are genuine or not just like those AP Engine oil sold in supermarket and even online sad for the people due to corruption, cronies and special protection for them for decades and on-on
included Michelin, Bridgestone, Toyo, Continental, Goodyear, Yokohama, Maxxis and Pirelli.
– better be safe, stick to LingLoong (low budget) or Giti (high budget)
“According to a follow-up NST report, companies present in the inspection included Michelin, Bridgestone, Toyo, Continental, Goodyear, Yokohama, Maxxis and Pirelli.”
“tyre”, you sure bro?
Leao is a good middle brand between low LingLong and high Giti.
I see no actions taken on the ever rampant tayar celup?
Bet they won’t reveal the country of origin of these cloned tyres. Don’t want to offend them.
They are not cloned tyres, but tyres made in other countries mostly from Europe. The smugglers got them cheap because the tyres are already past certain production years and Euro is strict about tyre age. Basically, the smuggled tyres are rejected genuine tyres not suitable for our country climate and road condition.
buy rovelo, viking and westlake tyres. no one is going to clone them.
i knew the shop but i chose different shop because the price is too good to be true. i rather spend more money to change at the established tyre shop and the most important i can register the tyre warranty successfully at the Michelin website – this is the best proof my tyre is 100% genuine
Protect huge margin of branded tyres and government tax . I will stick to china tyres which perform just as good for half the price. Just like china cars …
Would be doing the same thing. China tyres are way cheaper than STUPID European Brands
Easy renewal
No wonder my bike takes turns like a scania truck..