[anjan_c2007]

Two factories producing fake airbags for cars were busted by the Delhi Police on Saturday 20.04.24. These two factories involved in manufacturing fake airbags for cars have been shut down and 3 people were arrested. The police seized 921 counterfeit airbags worth Rs 1.84 crores. The brands for which these fake airbags were being manufactured include MG, BMW, Citreon, Renault, Volkswagen, Mahindra, Toyota, Tata, Honda, Suzuki, Kia, Ford, Kia and Volvo were seized by the police.

The three arrested persons are residents of Delhi. A case under Section 336/34 of the Indian Penal Code was filed and investigations are currently on in this case and police are trying to find out if there were other people also involved in this whole racket.

The Delhi Police said that they seized at least 921 fake airbags, whose market value was currently Rs 1.84 crore. The police said that the seized airbags are of different cars. While there are 12 airbags of MG, 13 airbags are meant for the BMW cars. Apart from this 22 airbags of Citroen, 23 airbags of Nissan, 27 airbags of Renault, 17 airbags of Volkswagen, 20 airbags of Mahindra, 14 airbags of Toyota, 32 airbags of Tata, 39 airbags of Honda, 57 airbags of Skoda, 66 airbags of Hyundai, 86 airbags of Suzuki, 12 airbags of Kia, 8 airbags of Ford and 3 airbags of Volvo were seized by the police team.

Apart from these 15 airbags with no logo, 54 airbags which are used on the passenger side of the cars, 5 balloon clothes, 287 motors used in airbags and 109 other raw materials used in manufacturing these airbags were recovered from the 2 factories, said officials.

This is an alarming situation and such counterfeit airbags would have surely found their way, sneaking into the replacement market, as OEM's source airbags from their branded suppliers. Fake airbags were for a galaxy of brands ranging from the budget cars to high end ones, duplicated with brand logos. The Delhi Police team needs to be commended.

The news:-

http://dhunt.in/U5PEE?s=a&uu=0x4a09defdfbda8a93&ss=pd
Source : "News9 Live" via Dailyhunt

[GTO]

Unbelievable! In India, if anything has value, it will be counterfeited. Whether it's a 10 rupee bottle of water (fake Bisleri) or now, airbags! Thanks for sharing.

My takeaways:

- If your car unfortunately ends up in a crash, get it repaired at the authorised dealer. When one has comprehensive insurance, there is no need to look elsewhere (unlike independent mechanics that are recommended for mechanical repair jobs). If you do get repair work done outside, ensure the indie sources airbags from the right channel, or source them yourself.

- If you are buying a used car, PPI, checking the insurance claims history etc. just became that much more important (our full Used Car buying checklist).

Whoever ends up needing an airbag probably needs it once in his / her life. It had better be a genuine, functioning one at that crucial moment!

[SmartCat]

I guess these are fake airbag 'assembly' units rather than 'manufacturing' units. These guys were probably importing components (motors, fabric, sensors, propellent, steering boss, wiring etc) from China & assembling it here.

[ToThePoint]

Originally Posted by SmartCat

I guess these are fake airbag 'assembly' units rather than 'manufacturing' units. These guys were probably importing components (motors, cloth, sensors, propellent, logos) from China & assembling it here.

Does it matter? These are critical life saving components. End of the day, these are finding way into cars of unsuspecting users and may not function the way they are supposed to; that makes all the difference between life and death of the occupants.

We need a proactive monitoring for such fakes and they should be available only through specialized channels after due quality checks.

[jetsetgo08]

Is there such a market for counterfeit airbags as such, what exactly are these counterfeits used for? Apart from demand from used car market, I can't think of other reasons. Airbag replacement post a crash is considered a major repair, and most people will sell out the car.

Originally Posted by GTO

- If your car unfortunately ends up in a crash, get it repaired at the authorised dealer. When one has comprehensive insurance, there is no need to look elsewhere (unlike independent mechanics that are recommended for mechanical repair jobs). If you do get repair work done outside, ensure the indie sources airbags from the right channel, or source them yourself.

Not related to airbags, but, unfortunately some well known authorized dealers are known to outsource the repair works to independent garages. It is a fraud that many customers are already aware of. So, there is no way to ensure authenticity unless we personally overlook the work.

[anjan_c2007]

Airbags as a component of the car cannot be tested for their capabilities while these are being purchased or fitted. The testing results are perceptible during a crash in which the car occupant/s may or may not survive. Hence, the sense of trust is what a customer relies upon while buying or getting replaced the airbag.

Off topic: As regards the Delhi market, more than two decades ago, I had to once buy an air cooler water pump while at my in-laws home and reached the nearest electrical market at Kalkaji. The shopkeeper showed me a pump or two from unheard brands. I asked for the MMI or GEC brands if available. The shopkeeper told me that he can get any brandname plate affixed as desired, and to come the next day.

[Mystic]

There are fakes everywhere. Now it is turn of airbags. I will not be surprised if there are fake ventilators at ICU in hospitals. Around 2000s, I was working in Hong Kong and our family used to cross the border to shenzen by land to do some fake goods shopping to bring to India. We get different grades of fakes for example fake Rolex watches from 10 HKD to 1000 HKD. The top end fake Rolex is as good as original ( on a lighter note ). This Delhi fake market is more dangerous than China. I don't understand how these fake industries thrive only in Asia ( I may be wrong ). Can any fake Industry survive in USA or Europe?

[Oppanna]

Really scary! What else is pending for faking now in this world?

Now the sticker " No Airbags we die like real men" will have more meaning?

[ZenMaster]

Originally Posted by GTO

Unbelievable! In India, if anything has value, it will be counterfeited. Whether it's a 10 rupee bottle of water (fake Bisleri) or now, airbags! Thanks for sharing.

Unfortunately the only thing that doesn't have value in India is our Lives.

[svsantosh]

I would not have been surprised if they made a fake ECU, it is at the end of the day a PCB (printer circuit board) and some old school electronics with some new tech software and lots of sensors.

But to put together explosives, that fabric, and pack it with a trigger mechanism is a whole different ball game. I am very curious to see how they look and did they actually work?

Well, at least here we beat our neighbors to make a 1st of copies!

[RunGaDa]

Originally Posted by GTO

Unbelievable! In India, if anything has value, it will be counterfeited. Whether it's a 10 rupee bottle of water (fake Bisleri) or now, airbags!

Absolutely. For once I tried out a "friendly" iPhone repair guy because my phone's battery was almost gone and I wanted to wait for the new upcoming phone in that year.
This guy tells me they get "First Copy" batteries from China. But they are good.
I took the risk. Told him its okay as long as it works for 6 months.
In the second month the battery started to balloon after one charge. I quickly shut down the charging and the phone.
The battery kept balloning until it separated the screen sealing.

Thankfully the lesson was learned. No unauthorized services. Its a cesspool of cheats there.

[amritpal2489]

Originally Posted by Mystic

There are fakes everywhere. Now it is turn of airbags. I will not be surprised if there are fake ventilators at ICU in hospitals. Around 2000s, I was working in Hong Kong and our family used to cross the border to shenzen by land to do some fake goods shopping to bring to India. We get different grades of fakes for example fake Rolex watches from 10 HKD to 1000 HKD. The top end fake Rolex is as good as original ( on a lighter note ). This Delhi fake market is more dangerous than China. I don't understand how these fake industries thrive only in Asia ( I may be wrong ). Can any fake Industry survive in USA or Europe?

Oh believe me this 'fakes' market is rampant in US/Canada too. It's just that everything is done more secretly here and you are made aware somehow that it is 'exactly like the original'

[Bhuvan]

India is not for beginners.
The process of getting learner's DL, learning to drive and finally getting permanent DL was hectic so this process was simplified in past by getting the permanent DL in advance (some convenience fee was required) and then learn to drive as you wish.
Maybe the arrested persons were trying to innovate a new technology for airbags because setting up factory is a long term plan. With short public memory all this will be forgotten soon.

I just wish the lawmakers made laws where such criminals who have absolutely no regard for human life are made example by letting them rot in jail for remaining life. With their inventory, many more in repair industry are also involved.
This further cements my belief in getting repair done from authorized brand service centre's and not just for cars but for AC, fridge, mobile phone, laptop etc. as well.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by Mystic

I don't understand how these fake industries thrive only in Asia ( I may be wrong ). Can any fake Industry survive in USA or Europe?

Yes, Asia (China, HK, Turkey and few more countries) are fake industries haven for production, but their main customer market is North America and EU. Economics is a demand-supply game, we cannot blame the supply when USA/EU are the ones creating the demand in the first place.

I was told that perfumes are 99% fakes unless you buy them from the Airport duty free shops. Watches/shoes/ladies handbags are high up on the demand list. Probably such fakes won't harm anyone.

Musée de la Contrefaçon, Paris specializes in luxury fakes. You need to see how crowded it is with inquisitive people from every sphere.

What takes counterfeiting to different level is when someone's life is at stake due to this. Like here in this case for airbags or for that matter with medicines. All involved in such trades, from top-down should be taken to task.

In 2016, imports of fake products into the EU were up to EUR 121 billion (USD 134 billion); up to 6.8% of EU imports, against 5% of imports of fakes in 2013.

In 2016 trade in counterfeit and pirated products amounted to as much as USD 509 billion. This represents up to 3.3% of world trade.

[Cresterk]

With the way 6 airbags was made mandatory instead of better structural integrity, this was only a matter of time. At the time everyone chalked it up to stupidity but apparently there might be a bigger plan behind it.

Airbags are sourced from vendors and can't be tested individually. Slip a few of these fake units in to a supply of real airbags and it would go unnoticed.