The market for fake car parts in the Middle East is rising at an alarming pace, now accounting for an estimated 30% of the region’s $11 billion sector. In a recent Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, the Middle East was highlighted as a central market in the $16 billion global trade in fake auto parts, which is growing at an estimated 9-11% a year. In the Middle East, the counterfeit parts market has increased by 10% since 2003, and surged by over 50% in cash value, from $1.6 billion to $3.3 billion in 2007, as the legitimate spare parts market has correspondingly increased from $8 billion to $11 billion, according to a DaimlerChrysler report. The Paris-based OECD has fingered China “as the principal source of counterfeit activity in the automotive sector, involving both trademark and design infringements.” Other countries are also swamping the Middle East with fake
