25% of UAE car parts fake

One-third of all spare parts used for Toyota cars in the country are fake. As the rate of accidents goes up in UAE a startling revelation has come to light. Since Toyota is among the highest selling cars, with sales of 100,000 cars each year or nearly 40% of new car sales, experts are expressing caution. "As a percentage, we probably know that [fakes] are about 25 per cent of the parts sold in the UAE, which is huge," said Kevin Jones, the senior general manager for after sales at Al-Futtaim, the UAE's largest car distributor. "It's a big problem because these are copied parts that are not made to any standard whatsoever, “ he added. Dubai Customs officials last year seized 75 per cent more shipments of counterfeit goods, including car parts, compared with 2009. The government has now launched a campaign to ensure that any dealer selling car parts was authorised to do so by the car's manufacturer or its partner in the UAE. Sharjah Chamber of Commerce will be key to the campaign since the emirate has such a high percentage of UAE’s spare-parts dealers.