TTAC News Round-up: U.S. Marshals Raid on SEMA Nabs Parts Plagiarizers

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Federal authorities busted numerous nefarious organizations for selling illicit auto parts at the SEMA show this week.

That, the automotive industry loses Martin Leach, endangering lives has led Takata to mull bankruptcy, and VW’s diesel emissions scandal continues as the company races for the finish line… after the break!

Parts plagiarism at SEMA

SEMA is the premiere event for those seeking the latest aftermarket parts for the automotive market. It’s also, apparently, a very good spot to locate the most recent knock-off parts to weasel their way onto the scene. Thanks to a hot tip from the Omix-Ada booth, U.S. Marshals entered the south hall and began taking care of business.

Two Chinese companies were served papers in the Las Vegas convention center and FourWheeler manage to snag some video. The subpoenas allege copyright and trademark violations of Omix products. The company is the world’s largest Jeep aftermarket parts manufacturer and wholesaler. Fake Omix-branded products were also seized before U.S. Marshals decided to call it a day.

Government officials also raided six other companies for bunk parts at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo after the two Specialty Equipment Market Association takedowns.

Automotive News spoke the vice president of SEMA events, Peter MacGillivray, who said the if accused “are found at fault, they will not be coming back to SEMA.”

Omix says it will definitely be taking legal action against the offending Chinese manufactures.

“This is obviously about our product line and intellectual property because we need to protect our customers and retailers. But it’s not just about Omix and Rugged Ridge, it’s something that is industry-wide and something that has been building up and becoming more and more rampant over the past two to three years,” said Omix-ADA’s Director of Marketing, Henk Van Dongen, in a statement.

“We’ll have to see how far we can legally pursue the companies that we dealt with today and we’re going to be vigilant going forward,” Van Dongen said. “It’s slow going, we’re just getting started with this but you can see we are focused on it. It’s a little like playing whack a mole, and hopefully if we whack them one time too many, then they won’t be coming back.”

District Judge Gloria Navarro issued a preliminary injunction and seizure order on Tuesday. In the documents, the companies were identified as Changzhou Jiulong Auto Lamps Factory, Guangzhou Vcan Electronic Technology Co., Maxgrand Ltd., Sanmak Lighting Co., Shenzen Unisun Technology Co., and Unity 4wd Accessories Co. Navarro has scheduled a preliminary hearing for the matter for November 10.

Martin Leach, former Ford and Maserati head, dies

Former Maserati and Ford Motor Co. executive Martin Leach has passed away at the age of 59. The death was announced in a Twitter post by NextEV. Motorsport reports he was battling cancer.

Leach joined NextEV to lead the company’s Formula E racing team, winning the first series title for electric vehicles in 2015. His career with Ford lasted 28 years and ended with him serving as president and COO of the automaker’s European division from 2002 to 2003. He also served as managing director of Mazda when Ford still owned a piece of the company.

After Ford, Leach went on to be acting CEO for Maserati before founding and serving as chairman of Magma Holdings Ltd., an auto industry consultancy.

Takata facing bankruptcy

According to Automotive News, Japan’s Takata Corp. is considering filing for bankruptcy for its U.S. unit. The air bag maker is seeking a sponsor to help pay for liabilities related to its dangerous air-bag inflators, which have have caused numerous injuries and deaths.

Takata has been working to choose a financial backer to help face the staggering costs related to the global recall of millions of potentially faulty inflators. The company has struggled to supply the replacement parts for potentially defective inflators, and a company-appointed committee has retained investment bank Lazard Ltd as an adviser.

The inflators have been linked to at least 16 deaths worldwide, mainly in the United States, sparking the largest automotive recall in history. Globally, roughly 100 million units will have to be replaced.

“Our preference would be to restructure debts through an out-of-court settlement with creditors. This has been our position since the start, and has not changed,” Takata CFO Yoichiro Nomura told reporters at a results briefing. “Aside from that, we’re open to all options.”

VW’s diesel crisis, version 3.0

Volkswagen is hoping to reach a settlement with the United States government before a new president takes office in January, as a change in leadership could introduce new troubles for VW as it tries to recover from the diesel scandal.

Automotive News reports:

“Of course we’d wish to have a final decision before the American government — and with it, the authorities — change, so that we can have certainty,” Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller said today during a conference in Hamburg. While he’s “disappointed” that the investigations have continued for so long, negotiations with U.S. regulators are “very good,” Mueller said.

VW is still facing criminal charges in the U.S. after getting approval for a $15 billion civil settlement last month with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board and disgruntled customers. A court hearing took place in U.S. District Court in San Francisco this morning relating to about 85,000 3-liter diesel engine cars that weren’t included in the previous agreement.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said yesterday that Volkswagen has made “substantial progress” in its discussions with the Justice Department for a 3.0-liter vehicle settlement.

Volkswagen submitted proposed fixes for larger-engined vehicles earlier this year and has been in talks with U.S. and California state regulators. People briefed on the talks told Automotive News that VW might agree to buy back more than 21,000 older Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q7 diesel vehicles and might repair the 60,000 newest ones if regulators agree to a fix. No final agreements have been reached.

[Images: SEMA, Magma Group, Takata, VW Group]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Notapreppie Notapreppie on Nov 04, 2016

    > Automotive News spoke the vice president of SEMA events, > Peter MacGillivray, who said the if accused “are found > at fault, they will not be coming back to SEMA.” Until the alleged perps change their name and wash/rinse/repeat.

  • MBella MBella on Nov 04, 2016

    I am having trouble understanding why a blatant counterfeiter would set up a booth at SEMA. It would be one thing if they were copying the design and selling under their own name, but to sell it branded as the original, at a trade show with the original is absurd.

    • See 2 previous
    • Thattruthguy Thattruthguy on Nov 06, 2016

      @MBella The fact that a judge issued an injunction and a seizure order means that Omix already has made a pretty persuasive case for its own side.

  • MaintenanceCosts It's not a Benz or a Jag / it's a 5-0 with a rag /And I don't wanna brag / but I could never be stag
  • 3-On-The-Tree Son has a 2016 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have a 2009 C6 Corvette LS3 6spd. And on paper they are pretty close.
  • 3-On-The-Tree Same as the Land Cruiser, emissions. I have a 1985 FJ60 Land Cruiser and it’s a beast off-roading.
  • CanadaCraig I would like for this anniversary special to be a bare-bones Plain-Jane model offered in Dynasty Green and Vintage Burgundy.
  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
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