The stage is set for Automechanika Shanghai – one of China’s leading professional forums for the automotive parts, components and aftermarket industry – which will take place from December 5–7 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. With over 1,000 exhibitors in six exhibition halls, the 2007 event will be the largest Automechanika show ever held in China.
Exhibitors from 24 countries are participating in the event. They include those from Belgium, Brazil, China, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the UK and the USA. The fair will also feature the Automechanika Academy and the Match-Making Forum, as in previous years.
Fight against fakes
According to the US Federal Trade Commission, product piracy costs the automobile industry more than Rs 50,400 crore every year. The situation in China is critical, where unprecedented economic growth has brought about an unparalleled surge in various illegal activities in regards to Intellectual Property, such as trademark infringement. In the automobile industry, counterfeit auto parts not only betray consumers’ trust and cause economic losses to the copyright holders, but also bring potential risk to public health and safety. Many drivers do not know that by using inferior-quality parts on their cars they endanger themselves and others.
Playing its part in the fight against fake products, Messe Frankfurt launched the large-scale ‘Messe Frankfurt Against Copying’ campaign in January
2006, to provide information about protecting brands and products against piracy at exhibitions. Automechanika fairs around the world have been a major focus of the campaign, and Messe Frankfurt advises and supports all Automechanika exhibitors in the fight against product piracy.
A special display stand will be set up at Automechanika Shanghai 2007, where exhibitors can seek legal advice from an IPR professional.
Meanwhile, the Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC), under the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, has organised nine member companies of the Automotive Industry Working Group – Bosch, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Delphi, Ford, General Motors, Peugeot-Citroen, and Volkswagen – jointly with two other well known automotive parts manufacturers, Mann-Hummel and ZF, to participate in the show. “Our goal is to stress the importance of using genuine spare parts in regards to consumer and public safety, by demonstrating the serious risks and damage caused by counterfeited auto parts,” says Ms Joann Chan, Aftersales New Initiative & Brand Protection Manager for General Motors in China. “The companies wish to promote the protection and development of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the automotive industry as a key element in consumer safety and in advocating an orderly and legal environment for business competition. We hope to increase public awareness of counterfeiting problems in the automotive industry, promote cooperation between companies, and actively assist Chinese Government in eradicating counterfeiting and protecting each company’s intellectual property rights.”
Autocar Professional will feature a detailed show report in its December 15 edition. Stay tuned.